R.I.P. ING Direct and a Cautious Welcome to Capital One 360

Brent Pittman —  01/29/2013 — 17 Comments
Will the ING marketing team stay with Capital One 360? Credit

Will the ING marketing team stay with Capital One 360? Credit Thomas Hawk.

As a “Saver” since 2008, I sadly write this article wearing my bright orange ING T-shirt with the phrase Save Your Money.

In just a few short hours ING Direct (a popular online bank) will be fully absorbed by Capital One.

The logo, the name, the fun bright orange colors, and more are heading the way of the Dodo bird with this change from ING Direct to Capital One 360 that cost Captial One almost 9 billion dollars.

Those who have put their trust and money with ING are full of much fear and a watch-and-see mentality is the norm for many of We the Savers.

What Attracted Savers to ING Direct

I was stricken with the idea of an online only bank like ING Direct and the higher interest rates they (once) offered.

Their witty marketing didn’t hurt either that encouraged us to be fiscally fit and save with that quirky orange ball. What was your favorite ING Direct billboard ad?

I loved that they supported running and had coffee shops that sold Peet’s Coffee–far superior to the Starbucks by the way.

Another important factor that attracted Savers to ING was that they didn’t offer credit cards nor were they affiliated with a much hated bank with poor customer service.

The question remains will Capital One 360 be an improvement or will they make changes that force many Savers to flee to other options?

Positive Changes with Capital One 360

Several changes stick out in my mind with the change to Capital One 360:

  • No fees for international transactions outside of the U.S.–normally 1%-3% per transaction depending on bank.
  • More ATM options. Now you’ll be able to access money at 2,000 more Capital One owned ATMs.
  • During the changing of the guard, Capital One fueled the need for remote check deposits via smart phone.

Despite these positive changes, I have several questions that make We the Savers weary–and looking at alternatives to ING.

  • How can Savers trust Capital One that so actively promotes credit cards and debt?
  • Can the Capital hold to the spirit of the We the Savers Declaration?
  • Will the marketing team from ING Direct stay on board?
  • Will Capital One 360 increase interest rates to match Ally Bank and other online banks?

Are you a ING customer? How do you feel and will you stick with Capital One 360? 

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Brent Pittman

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Brent is a financial coach and writer looking for the perfect donut. He believes personal finance should be both fun and accessible to anyone willing to learn.
  • http://twitter.com/moneybeagle Money Beagle

    ING attracted many customers (myself included) because they offered interest rates that were higher than their competition, pretty much across the board. Other banks would offer 5%, ING would offer 5.5%. Then, when rates started plummeting, ING not only followed suit (which I understand) in lowering rates, they dropped them to the same levels as other banks. Other banks are at 0.75% and that’s where ING sits. So the change to Capital One is really no big deal because ING Direct became ‘just another bank’ a couple of years ago.

    • http://www.ontargetcoach.com/ Brent Pittman

      Sadly, I missed out on the good ole’ days of high rates and have seen them slip since joining.

  • http://www.uniquegifter.com/ Anne @ Unique Gifter

    Scotia bought ING in Canada and I am also apprehensive and skeptical. Only time will tell if there are any negative changes. TD took over my favourite credit card from mbna and it took almost a year, but the negative changes came.

    • http://www.ontargetcoach.com/ Brent Pittman

      Seems we are doomed to bank hop ever few years.

  • krantcents

    I am not an ING or Capital one customer! I do not think by offering credit cards you are promoting debt. Using credit responsibly is up to the individual.

    • http://www.ontargetcoach.com/ Brent Pittman

      I agree that personal responsibility is in order, yet I do believe there is a contradiction of offering debt products like credit cards and their We the Savers Declaration.

  • http://www.moneylifeandmore.com/ Lance@MoneyLife&More

    Since they’ve been Capital one (just the name hasn’t changed yet) they’ve already lowered rates. I am an ING/CO360 customer and will be monitoring the situation. I’m giving them a chance though.

    • http://www.ontargetcoach.com/ Brent Pittman

      True, it’s been a slow change over–I’m hoping they can keep rates competitive enough for me to stick with them too–but of course I’m researching other options.

  • http://www.lifeofasteward.com Loren Pinilis

    Is there any listing where you can see the interest rates of online banks? I’m looking to possibly move into one, but I don’t know much about them.

    • http://www.ontargetcoach.com/ Brent Pittman

      bankrate.com is one

  • John@TheMoneyPrinciple

    I don’t have an ING account and it is being sold to Barclays here in the UK. So maybe that is another End-Of era – like the Egg bank here that went the same way.

    Having said that, I regularly use a Capital One card and it is one of the better ones IMHO.

    • http://www.ontargetcoach.com/ Brent Pittman

      Sad that banks can’t sustain throughout the years.

  • will

    I have my mortgage loan through ING and it looks like Cap One took away the automatic rate renewal button, you now have to call, and are making new customer escrow taxes and insurance fees. I’m sure they are other changes I haven’t caught yet.

    • http://www.ontargetcoach.com/ Brent Pittman

      I’m not familiar with the mortgages side of old ING…sorry looks like a hassle.

  • http://www.mymoneydesign.com/ MyMoneyDesign

    I was an ING guy for years until I turned over to Ally. Their rates were slightly better. I was sad to see ING go. No more bright orange…

    • http://www.ontargetcoach.com/ Brent Pittman

      The end of an era. I’ve looked at Ally a bit too, but haven’t been convinced to make a leap to anywhere else…yet.

  • RB

    I have been an ING customer for over 10 yrs. It was nice to manage long term CDs with the nice high interest rates. I just now tried to log into my account at C360 and the website is sloooooowww. I’m still not logged in yet. This is disappointing to say the least.