ING Checking

Do you use ING Direct? I do, and have since I turned 18. Now, they even let minors setup savings accounts. ING is an online savings account that pays very respectable interest rates. They're super easy to use and best of all they charge no fees and pay rates you'll never find at a bank for a liquid savings account with no minimum. Check them out at www.ingdirect.com.

Well it just gets better! A few weeks ago I was invited to open an ING Checking Account. And I did just that. Why? Why not? They offer no minimum balance, a Mastercard Debit Card, free ATM access, free bill pay, and a 3% interest rate (about 10x that of banks). And yes, it's FDIC insured. Look out brick-and-mortar banks. ING and other virtual banks are going to grow by leaps and bounds and prove to be an even bigger threat in the years to come. One more added perk of an ING Checking account, is their new free $1,000 overdraft protection. You'll never get a "non-sufficient funds" charge from ING - instead they give you an instant credit line so if you write a check for $30 you don't have, they'll accept it and not charge you a large fee but instead charge a "competitive interest rate" which would typically cost you less than a few bucks until you replenish your balance. I'm told their new checking account will be available to all customers in Jan or Feb 2007.

PS - You'll never see me endorse something I don't personally use.