# ING Direct – TFSA With No Fees



## hkx0601 (Dec 17, 2011)

We recently used an Orange Key to set up an ING Direct Tax-Free Investment Savings Account (TFSA) in my wife’s name to use as our emergency fund and saving for annual expenses like Christmas gifts and property taxes. We decided to use ING Direct for three reasons:

Unlike some other banks, this is a TFSA with no fees
The current 2% is a great rate compared to most other banks’ high interest savings accounts
Using an Orange Key gave us a free $25 when we opened the account

TFSA with no fees

Some banks have TFSA accounts with either administration fees or withdrawal fees. We chose ING Direct because they have no fees. This is especially important in these early years of the TFSA since the fees could wipe out any tax savings from the interest on a relatively small balance.

High interest rate

While a couple years ago, I wouldn’t be calling 2% a “high interest rate”, in the current economy this is about as good as it gets for a savings account. While everyone loves their low mortgage lending rates, the low interest rates have a negative effect when you’re trying to save money and earn interest on it. That said, ING has a good track record of providing one of the best interest rates at any point in time, so I’m hoping to see this rate increase eventually and stay ahead of the competition.

ING Direct does also offer a Tax-Free Guaranteed Investment (GIC) with up to 3% interest. While this account didn’t suit our needs since we plan to access the money, it could be a great way to set up a GIC ladder inside your TFSA.
Orange Key for a free $25

Being able to use an Orange Key for a free $25 helped to break the tie between ING Direct and Ally, which is another good choice for a TFSA, also with no fees and the same interest rate. Once you have your own account, you also get an orange key to refer friends and family and not only do they get $25 added to their account, buy you will get $25 as well!

If you want to sign up for a TFSA at ING Direct, you can use an Orange Key to get a $25 added to your account for free! Once you sign up, just send them a cheque for you initial deposit of $100 and once they finalize your account you’ll have an extra $25 added. The Orange Key is also good for accounts outside of a TFSA, including high interest savings accounts, GICs, and mutual funds.


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

This is not much more than a plug for ING.

I am not aware of any of the major banks charging administration or withdrawal fees for TFSAs that hold only savings accounts, GICs, or the bank's no-load mutual funds, which is no different than ING.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

hilarious how all the big banks & the not-so-big banks social media marketing teams keep trying to infiltrate cmf forum.

take a bow for success moderators.


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## jamesbe (May 8, 2010)

Agreed, looks like spam.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Nothing more than spam.


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## CanadianCapitalist (Mar 31, 2009)

I agree that this is a spam message but I don't think it is from ING Direct. It appears to be a client trolling here for referrals.


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## Barwelle (Feb 23, 2011)

Good call. The numbers are even exaggerated. The highest savings rate is 1.5% (not 2%) and the highest rate for GICs is 2.35%, not 3%.


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## Oxidd1979 (Feb 14, 2011)

Funny that he forgot to write his orange key! heeh


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

What I would like to know is if it is acknowledged that this is a spam thread, why has it been allowed to continue to exist? Its continued existence fulfills the objective of the spammer!


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

i doubt he forgot to include his orange key in the original message. Look again at the post. It was edited by CC who obviously deleted the sentence w the key.

imho it's fine to leave the message standing. It bellows out, loud & clear, how folks can collect $25 from ING. Surely the info is of some use.


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## CanadianCapitalist (Mar 31, 2009)

Yes, I edited out the Orange Key from the original message. Typically, these posts are deleted right in the moderation queue but one occasionally slips through. I left it in here because there is no real harm in the message but if members feel strongly about it, I'll be happy to delete the thread.


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## cannew (Jun 19, 2011)

Though I agree with other comments, ING is a great place to store money temporarily. I use it to transfer funds not currently in use. There are no transfer fees and the 1.5% is better than having it sit in the bank. When I need the money it's transferred back, again at no cost.


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

Barwelle said:


> Good call. The numbers are even exaggerated. The highest savings rate is 1.5% (not 2%) and the highest rate for GICs is 2.35%, not 3%.


Hmmm ... the OP said it was a ING Direct TFSA, which as of Jan 3rd, 2012 is listed as 2% (maybe it was lower in Dec 2011?).
http://www.ingdirect.ca/en/save-invest/tfsa/index.html

Though based on past experience, this is likely an early year rate to get people to deposit and in a few weeks/months, it will be adjusted down to a lower rate.


Cheers


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

cannew said:


> Though I agree with other comments, ING is a great place to store money temporarily. I use it to transfer funds not currently in use. There are no transfer fees and the 1.5% is better than having it sit in the bank. When I need the money it's transferred back, again at no cost.


*shrug* - My understanding that ING Direct is a bank.

IAC, now that ING Direct offers chequing like PC Financial, one can transfer back and forth from chequing to savings then back as much as one wants.

If one is comfortable with an online bank and does not need any additional services, why bother with a second financial institution? 


Cheers


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

With the referral link gone, I see no problem with this post.

I do get 2% at ING in the HISA, but it is in the Children's account, which is linked to mine anyways. I just transfer the money into their accounts, which they have as seperate accounts, and get the higher rate. Plus, I got the $100 bonus when I opened each of their accounts there. I don't know if they have it right now, but it comes up quite frequently.

You do need to have a child to take advantage of this deal. =)


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## Barwelle (Feb 23, 2011)

Eclectic12 said:


> Hmmm ... the OP said it was a ING Direct TFSA, which as of Jan 3rd, 2012 is listed as 2% (maybe it was lower in Dec 2011?).
> http://www.ingdirect.ca/en/save-invest/tfsa/index.html
> 
> Though based on past experience, this is likely an early year rate to get people to deposit and in a few weeks/months, it will be adjusted down to a lower rate.


That's it exactly. I specifically remember checking all rates, including TFSA and RRSP. I just checked my statements, and it was 1.5% in December.

I think I got caught with a teaser rate when I started my account. It was 3% when I opened a TFSA account with them on April 6, 2010, then on the 28th of the very same month, it dropped to 2%.

Although it didn't drop to 1.5% until August 2011... who knows if it will stay at 2% now.

Looking back, I would have gone with Ally. Their HISA (TFSA and not) has been at 2% every time I check it, and their GIC rates are all around 0.50% higher than ING's. It's not much, but it's more. The only thing that's stopping me is that I don't want to jump from account to account chasing interest rates.

Ally doesn't have a chequing account though.


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## The_Mechanic (Jan 6, 2012)

In my opinion ING direct is simply stealing canadian bank customers by attracting them with 2% interest savings accounts, and then sending all their profits back to the Netherlands. They ask for a check to sign up because that means a bank has already run all the background checks on you which means no investement on their part. Banks offer garantuees and do actual work for you outside of just building interest. ING does none of this.

That plus no service for anything out of the ordinary and not having to invest anything in Canada in return, to me is reason enough not to invest with this company...I'll keep my .5% interest savings account and leave my money in Canada. The extra 1.5% equates to barely nothing anyways unless you're keeping 10 grand in your savings account, which I dont wee why you would....


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

The_Mechanic said:


> In my opinion ING direct is simply stealing canadian bank customers by attracting them with 2% interest savings accounts, and then sending all their profits back to the Netherlands. They ask for a check to sign up because that means a bank has already run all the background checks on you which means no investement on their part. Banks offer garantuees and do actual work for you outside of just building interest. ING does none of this.
> 
> That plus no service for anything out of the ordinary and not having to invest anything in Canada in return, to me is reason enough not to invest with this company...I'll keep my .5% interest savings account and leave my money in Canada. The extra 1.5% equates to barely nothing anyways unless you're keeping 10 grand in your savings account, which I dont wee why you would....


Hmmm ... interesting idea but I'm not so sure it is as drastic as you are thinking. ING Direct is a tier II bank so it is incorporated under Canada's Bank Act. 

As well, I doubt they are skipping the background check - a lot can change for the individual after the original account was setup in the years since. IAC, I suspect the cheque has more to do with an easy way to get the account number for the linked account, where the individual is not setting up an ING chequing account.

I'm also interested in what guarantees/other work that say BMO is providing that ING Direct does not. 

Also they did setup their call centre in Toronto - which is an investment in Canada. As well, they offer mortgages so for all of the related services required will have to be done in Canada.


Finally, while I can understand your preference "shop Canadian" and avoid a subsidiary of a foreign bank, I'm puzzled why you are settling for 0.5% interest. 

If the limited services of an online bank meets your needs, surely you are aware of PC Financial? It is owned by Loblaws and is a tier 1 domestic Canadian bank, administered by CIBC. The last I checked, with a balance of $1K, they also paid 1.5% with an additional anniversary bonus.

This would let you "stay Canadian".


Cheers


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

The_Mechanic said:


> In my opinion ING direct is simply stealing canadian bank customers by attracting them with 2% interest savings accounts, and then sending all their profits back to the Netherlands. They ask for a check to sign up because that means a bank has already run all the background checks on you which means no investement on their part. Banks offer garantuees and do actual work for you outside of just building interest. ING does none of this.
> 
> That plus no service for anything out of the ordinary and not having to invest anything in Canada in return, to me is reason enough not to invest with this company...I'll keep my .5% interest savings account and leave my money in Canada. The extra 1.5% equates to barely nothing anyways unless you're keeping 10 grand in your savings account, which I dont wee why you would....


$10k in a savings account isn't much of an emergency fund for the typical family.
Saving for a car, house downpayment, new roof, vacation etc.


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## somecanuck (Dec 23, 2011)

MrMatt said:


> $10k in a savings account isn't much of an emergency fund for the typical family.
> Saving for a car, house downpayment, new roof, vacation etc.


That's exactly how *not* to use an emergency, unless your roof has is damaged. An emergency fund isn't meant to be a "oh I'll dip into it" situation, it's more of an "oh ****" moment.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

i don't feel harshly negative towards ING direct dot ca at all. They provide employment, pay taxes, rent some offices, contribute generously to canadian charities, conform to the rigorous requirements of the canadian bank act, have earned & maintain insurance for each canadian dollar account from the CDIC, what more could one want.

it would be just as logical, would it not, to say one will no longer buy tea or coffee because they are products of foreign countries ... certainly there is no automobile a person with such a restricted consumption profile could own ... no computer either ... no telephone ... probably no stove, frig, furnace or washing machine ... would one even have any clothing to wear ... going barefoot is always fun in winter ...


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Yet ING Direct Canada is apparently as Canadian as they come.. according to what people always quickly point out during any discussion of ING Groep Netherlands ADR stocks and also quickly confirmed if you even try to use any ING services in the Netherlands.... Enjoy your 0.5%, which is only the tip of the B&M-rip-off ice berg


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

I invested $5K in an ING TFSA savings account paying 2% in January 2011. It is still paying 2% and I have just invested another $5K.


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

heyjude said:


> I invested $5K in an ING TFSA savings account paying 2% in January 2011. It is still paying 2% and I have just invested another $5K.


Was that 2% paid through the entire year of 2011?

The last time I tracked the rate, it dropped back to what everyone else was offering at about March.


Just curious ...


Cheers


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## Quotealex (Aug 1, 2010)

Speaking of ING Direct. Do they have an option to download CSV files like all the other banks? I've looked quickly into my account but I dont think I saw it!


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Quotealex said:


> Speaking of ING Direct. Do they have an option to download CSV files like all the other banks? I've looked quickly into my account but I dont think I saw it!


Scroll down to the bottom when you log in. You can download QFX, Microsoft Money or Excel/other (I think that's CSV?)

ING is by far and large the leading online bank in Canada. Take it from a guy who tried to bank with other banks from abroad. They wouldn't budge from "you have to come in to the branch" for things as simple as cashing a cheque. ING is more catering online. Not quite on par with Europe online banking though.


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## Jungle (Feb 17, 2010)

I just got another $50 referral fee from them. Going straight on the mortgage. Thank you ING!


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## Quotealex (Aug 1, 2010)

mode3sour said:


> Scroll down to the bottom when you log in. You can download QFX, Microsoft Money or Excel/other (I think that's CSV?)
> 
> ING is by far and large the leading online bank in Canada. Take it from a guy who tried to bank with other banks from abroad. They wouldn't budge from "you have to come in to the branch" for things as simple as cashing a cheque. ING is more catering online. Not quite on par with Europe online banking though.


Thanks for the info


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