An online bank that has it all

The ING group is a large Dutch financial institution. The first online bank, ING Direct, was born in Canada in 1997 and opened in France in 2000 , initially offering savings. Life Insurance became available in 2004, and has been very successful ever since. In 2010 , ING Direct also added the current account to its catalog. The stock marketers will find for their part an offer of stock market and investment funds.
The ING group is already present in several countries and already offers its online banking services in Europe and the United States. It remains today the leader of online banks , in France and in the world, counting 920,000 French customers in 2015. With particularly advantageous pricing , quality service and a very efficient website , its positioning among the best is quite justified. The boom in mobility has not escaped the notice of ING Direct, which makes the management of its accounts available directly from iPhones, iPads, Android phones ... We have tested banking services and here are our conclusions. At the start of 2019, ING simplified the positioning of the brand and ING Direct became ING .

Open a current account with ING Direct?

Opening an account is super fast! All you have to do is complete the current account opening form online, then print the contract. It must then be returned by post, accompanied by the requested supporting documents. (You can also request to receive said contract by post, but you will lose a few days).
The request is then studied, and if there is acceptance, you are notified by e-mail or SMS of the opening confirmation within 3 days.

Less than a week after your request and study of your file, you will receive by post, by registered mail, your welcome envelope in which you will find:

• your Gold MasterCard
• your personal authentication card to secure certain online transactions.
• guides for welcoming and using your account.
• contractual information notices (insurance, assistance, prices, credit card contract, etc.).
• a summary of the offer made to you (overdrafts and authorized ceilings, etc.).
• a pre-filled bank domiciliation change form to facilitate the transfer of your income.

The account will only be definitively activated after a first payment (minimum of $ 300) , by bank check or transfer (from an account in your name) to it.

Open an ING Direct online current account

Conditions to be fulfilled to open an ING Direct account

Note that certain conditions must be fulfilled to be eligible for opening an ING Direct account:

• be a natural person of full age , capable and domiciled in France for needs other than professional)
• have a mobile phone number and an email address
• make a monthly external payment of $ 1,200 for a simple account, or $ 2,000 net / month for a joint account, OR have $ 5,000 in outstanding payments, otherwise pay a user fee of € 5 / month
• There is no obligation of direct debit , as in other online banks.

Details of ING current account offers:

ESSENTIAL offer:

• Standard Mastercard
• immediate debit
• purchase ceiling of 2000 € / 30 days sliding
• withdrawal ceiling of 500 € / 30 days sliding
• 5 free withdrawals / month
• PIN code personalization online
• (de) temporary blocking of the online card
• (de) activation of online contactless payment
• no modification of the limits
• no overdraft allowed
• no checkbook
  
  

INTEGRAL offer:

• GOLD Mastercard
• immediate or deferred debit, as desired
• purchase limit up to $ 4000
• withdrawal limit up to $ 1,000
• free and unlimited withdrawals
• PIN code personalization online
• (de) temporary blocking of the online card
• (de) activation of online contactless payment
• modification of the limits online
• overdraft authorized up to $ 4000
• order and sent checkbook

The bank card with ING Direct?

Two types of card depending on the chosen offer: the Gold MasterCard , with immediate or deferred debit for the INTEGRAL offer (this is the equivalent of the Premier card at Visa), and the Standard Mastercard for the ESSENTIAL offer.
It is accepted in most shops, online sales sites and ATMs (more than 35 million acceptance points worldwide, in 210 countries), just like Visa. ING provides it free of charge to its customers with a current account, with no time limit, which represents a significant saving in terms of bank charges!
Since September 2017 , ING has (finally!) Been offering contactless payment on its bank cards , and is catching up with other online banks that have been offering it for years. Better late than never as they say! It allows you to pay for small purchases just by affixing the card to the payment terminal, without dialing the code (5 contactless purchases maximum authorized, the verification code being requested once for security purposes, except in the case of a bank card purchase with code meanwhile). The amount of purchases possible with contactless was $ 20 and has increased to $ 30 since October 2017 for the new cards.
The Gold Mastercard card is accompanied by a range of advanced services ( assistance and insurance ) very practical, especially for travelers:

• medical assistance and repatriation
• hospitalization abroad
• legal assistance abroad
• replacement driver
• snow assistance ...
• insurance theft and damage to rental vehicles (forget and refuse the surcharge proposed by the rental companies !!!)
• guarantees against aircraft flight bans
• snow and mountain insurance
• trip cancellation / interruption insurance
• travel accident insurance
• civil liability abroad ...

ING Direct: the advantages

• the premium bank card (and associated services) is completely free and accessible from low income ($ 1,200 net income per month for a single account).
• several possible offers (and associated card, premium or not) accessible according to the income of each.
• no "package" of services , often very expensive paid and unnecessary in so-called "classic" establishments. There is no surprise: almost everything is free!
• very competitive general pricing , which ranks among the best on the market.
• the possibility of supplementing then by opening a savings account , life insurance . ING regularly offers attractive promotional rates during the year.
• Cristal number ( local call not surcharged in 01) to reach an advisor, Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 9 pm / 6 pm on Saturday.
• a very simple account opening and very fast access to means of payment.
• the sponsorship of friends is paid for the godfather and the godson.
• changing the secret code of the bank card is possible from the customer area, it therefore becomes free . No limit to the number of changes.
• ceiling changes are now made directly in the customer area, they apply immediately and are free.

Open an ING Direct online current account

ING Direct: the disadvantages

• ING finally seems ready to offer Apple Pay in 2020 , when the demand from iPhone owners is more and more pressing, and other competitors say they are already negotiating with Apple (only a few financial institutions offer it to their current clients: Carrefour Banque and the BPCE group (Banque populaire et Caisse d'épargne), Bridgepayday, or Hello bank ! .

ING Direct: visuals of the user interface

ING Direct: the offers available

• Current account with free Gold MasterCard
• Orange savings account (no opening, deposit or closing costs)
• Orange savings booklet for minor children
• Livret A (no opening, deposit or closing costs)
• Term account (no opening, deposit or closing fees
• Life insurance online with no entry fees
• Stock market (€ 0 for a majority of current transactions)
• Range of Funds (€ 0 entry, exit and custody fees)
• Real estate credit.

Open an ING Direct online current account

ING Direct: mobile applications

	YES
	YES

ING Direct: our opinion

Even though the ING group is Dutch, ING Direct depends on the French law on banking establishments, and as such offers all legal guarantees, which should reassure future customers who are still hesitant.
This pioneering bank in the online offer demonstrates real quality service and covers most of your daily needs. It is aimed at people wishing to free themselves from physical branches, their schedules unsuited to modern life, endless lines at the counter and exorbitant and unjustified bank charges.
It will also appeal to those who do not want to put all their eggs in one basket and diversify their investments and savings. It ranks among the best on the market , and in our opinion, can quite place itself on the first step of the podium as the pricing remains advantageous everywhere .
The interface is very minimalist and now almost too simplified. It was modified during 2013 and the ergonomics may confuse some. We like ... or we don't.
Contactless payment has finally arrived (September 2017) at ING, allowing its customers to make purchases of less than $ 20 ($ 30 for cards issued after October 1, 2017) just by bringing the card near the payment terminal, without having to type in code. Is Apple Pay still missing for the offer to be truly complete? ( Hello bank ! , BforBank , Bridgepayday have all been offering contactless for years).

Still hesitating?

Of course, leaving your bank in which you have had an account for years, sometimes even since your teenage years, because the parents had theirs there, can make you hesitate. We often push back, saying to ourselves "I'll see that later" ...
However, do a quick calculation: how much does your bank take from you for the contribution of your card? $ 12? per month?! ... Visually that is little on the bank statement ... But multiplied by 12, that still amounts to $ 144 per year! Imagine what you could have done with $ 1,440 after 10 years of savings ! It is not negligible
Except, online banks offer exactly the same basic services, free of charge, and with high-end bank cards. All this for ZERO us dollar! And they are completely reliable (subsidiaries of large banking groups).
Finally, if it is depriving you of a privileged contact with your "personal" adviser that still makes you hesitate ... Ask yourself how many times you must have met him in recent years (if not for he tries to get you to sign new investment products (!)). In the end, having an appointed advisor is a very expensive thing to pay for what you do with it, don't you think?
And then nothing prevents you from trying: the opening and even the closing are free , and there is no membership fee ! But it is certain that when you have tasted the bank without charge, you will not want to leave at all ...

Open an ING Direct online current account