Should I open an ING online savings account?

Question

My boss, the payroll manager at work, and my friend the accountant says to. Thoughts?

Answer 1

ING Direct currently pays 4.5%. You can find others that pay even more:
http://www.emigrantdirect.com
http://www.hsbcdirect.com
http://www.theapplebank.com

These 3 banks pay 5% and more - there might be others out there, too. You can always check on http://www.bankrate.com to find the best rates.

Answer 2

I'd tell you not to. I had an account with ING and hate all the crap you go through to sign on to your account. They have a lot of stupid security measures,, and if you don't make a list of how you answered the questions they ask, you will have trouble if you ever try to use another computer. My hard drive crashed, when I got a new one and was back on line,, ING didn't recognize my computer,, and started asking for a lot of the info I had supplied,, I didn't remember and even over the phone they wouldn't tell me anything except for my 1099 tax info. I closed the account,, will never do that again. I get almost as much at a local bank in a money market account and I can just walk into the bank to deposit or withdraw money.

Answer 3

It depends how much you can put into a savings account. There are small and regional banks in your neighborhood that will pay at or above the ING rate. They have to pay similar rates in order to stay competitive with other banks.

Answer 4

ING is great. Also check out;

www.GMACBank.com, higher rates, FDIC insured more "free" ways to access your money (ATM, Checks, multiple accounts you can do ACH with).

Even if their rates are the same as a "local" bank (which they're not)..... the value GMACBank (and a few others) far exceeds what you can get from a bank with large overhead.

Answer 5

I've had one of those accounts for years.
It's nice, they pay 5 times the interest rate any local bank pays on a savings account. Also have CD's with them. They're FDIC insured, so you can't ever lose your cash.