The modern world of banking is undergoing rapid and continuous changes. Today, there are many competitors vying for the leading position at the expense of their rivals. And Ing Direct is no exception.
Probably not a few people have already heard of Ing Direct, a bank that also often appears in television commercials. It can be recognized by its characteristic orange color, which distinguishes it from its competitors and allows you not to confuse it with them.
Ing Direct is a direct bank: what does it mean?
The first fundamental characteristic of Ing Direct is that, according to the technical jargon of banking circles, it belongs to the category of "direct" banks. It is not difficult to explain this concept: a bank is considered direct if it is able to offer all or most of its financial services without the support of branches. The latter are known to be the typical organizational form of traditional banks.
In essence, the relationship between the customer and the institution can develop without an intermediate element in the form of a branch. This is why Ing Direct provides its services and offers also via the Internet and thus belongs to the extensive group of "Internet banks".
Ing Direct in the world
Speaking of the scale of the company, it is impossible not to mention that Ing Direct today is a colossus at the international level, having offices in more than 40 countries. Therefore, it is not surprising that its customers are already more than 35 million people.
Ing Direct was founded in 1991 in Amsterdam and has quickly built up an international network.
The company has more than one million customers on its books. Another feature of Ing Direct is that it presents to the public financial products capable of providing a net income, not very high, but with interest rates competitive with those found on the market.
The turnover figures for the last years are also very positive and bode well for the future of this online bank.
Ing Direct, products: Arancio current account
This online bank has several products: although it does not shine with the breadth of its offerings, their quality is noteworthy. First of all, the flagship of the group is the Ing Direct current account called Conto Corrente Arancio. Let's consider below what features made it famous:
- Free withdrawals in Europe from any ATM;
- Free credit transfers in the eurozone either at a bank branch or online;
- Free monthly fee when you deposit your pension or salary into the account;
- Domiciliation of utilities;
- Mav, Rav and F24 payments;
- Telephone top-up facility;
- Free checkbook;
- Free prepaid Mastercard;
- Free contactless Mastercard debit card.
If a customer does not wish to transfer their salary to an ING Direct account, they can opt for a "zero-limits" plan, which will allow them to use all of the above services while paying a reduced fee of just a few euros per month.
However, the Arancio current account is not actually completely free: if the customer wishes to credit his salary or pension to the account, the only fee he will have to pay is the annual stamp duty stipulated in the relevant regulations.
"Orange" deposit account
ING Direct offers customers the "Orange" deposit account, which has been a benchmark for the group's activities since the bank's inception. Here are its main features:
- Ability to deposit and withdraw funds at any time;
- No opening and management fees;
- smartphone application for deposit management;
- Annual nominal lending rate of 0.10% (versus 0.02 for the Conto Arancio mentioned above).
Other products offered by Ing Direct
Of course, Ing Direct's range of products doesn't end there. The Dutch bank offers quite interesting personal loans, with particularly favorable repayment terms for the borrower and loan amounts up to 50,000 euros. The answer to the loan application comes very quickly, within a few minutes. Moreover, if the answer is positive and the loan applicant is a customer with an Ing Direct account, the amount will be credited almost simultaneously.
And that's not all: Ing Direct also provides a loan "Prestito Arancio Business", that is, a loan designed for small and medium-sized businesses, on particularly favorable terms. Indeed, the loan amount can be up to 100,000 euros, and in just ten minutes, the Institute will evaluate the feasibility of the application. In addition, the entire process will be digital, providing Ing Direct with access codes to current accounts with which to manage the business.
And with the help of Arancio mortgage it will be possible not only to buy a home, but also to replace the mortgage loan, and get additional liquidity by providing real estate as collateral. The mortgage involves financing up to 50% of the value of the property, the term - up to 30 years. There is also the possibility to choose between fixed and variable rates and the possibility of subsequent revision of the fixed rate.
Ing Direct: homebanking services and Ing App
Not only the typical home-banking services, which can be accessed from the customer section of the official website, Ing Direct has also developed a special Ing App, which facilitates all customer activities - everything at your fingertips. The Dutch internet bank is committed to providing an IT service that meets modern internet security standards.
Indeed, the Ing App uses a fingerprint recognition system to access functions. But also available is a facial recognition method, "Face ID", which allows the customer to log in with just a glance.
Ing Direct, customer opinions: pros and cons
Let's summarize what can be considered the pros and cons of Ing Direct online banking.
Positive reviews about Ing Direct
The positives include the widespread distribution of the institute, with branches almost everywhere now, as well as the good condition of the accounts, which gives hope for the future. Also, the minimal management costs and the variety of transactions available, which is considered satisfactory.
- The wide spread of ING Direct banks around the world;
- very positive turnover figures;
- encouraging rating of the institution;
- financial services provided without the need to interact with a branch;
- minimal costs;
- wide range of authorized banking transactions.
Negative Ing Direct reviews
Not without criticism and very unfavorable opinions. First of all, Internet users pay attention to the work of the support service. Indeed, receiving answers from the call-center operator, many consider it a big waste of time to wait. Moreover, many note that the user is often "thrown" from one switchboard to another, often without receiving an effective answer.
Added to this is the charging of sudden and unexpected fees, which to some extent can undermine the trusting relationship between the user and Ing Direct. Moreover, this happens despite sponsoring zero commissions. Often the cause is the activation of "alert" features, but without warning.
There are some users who note that Ing Direct's phone numbers are not toll-free and current accounts are not managed efficiently.
- Service through a call center with poor response times;
- difficulties in obtaining PINs for their cards;
- difficulties in closing an account;
- charging sudden and unexpected fees.
It can be concluded that, overall, users' opinion of Ing Direct is on average good, which is also evidenced by the data on financial stability and the high number of customers.
Comments