ING Direct - Savings Account

ING Direct - Savings Account

ING Direct is the sixth biggest retail bank in Australia, with $30 billion in loans, and around $20 billion in deposits. It is best known for introducing "branchless banking" to Australia by conducting all transactions via phone and internet. This approach has enabled it to expand its customer base to the USA, Canada, the UK, Germany, Italy, France, and Austria. Currently, it has over 1 million customers in Australia and 20 million more worldwide and a great savings account deal.

ING Direct is part of the ING Group, a leading financial institution operating in over 50 countries.

History

ING Direct was launched in Australia in 1999 as a small online bank. From the outset, it aimed to do all its business electronically to save on overhead costs, allowing them to offer competitive interest rates and better financial products. This simple approach helped it go from a zero base to become Australia's first and leading direct bank.
Although it operates internationally, ING Direct holds an Australian banking license and is constantly monitored by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, the official regulating body.

Company profile

ING Direct Australia is based in New South Wales. Its headquarters is in Sydney and it runs a 24-hour contact center in Tuggerah, also in NSW. It currently has over 750 employees. Since it started operations, ING Direct customers have received more than $4 billion in interest without paying a single cent in bank fees, savings account keeping, or transaction charges.

Awards won

ING Direct has won Best Foreign Bank from 2003 to 2005 at the Australian Banking and Finance Magazine Awards. In 2006 it was recognized for best promotion, and for the past two years it has won the Best Website award. It was also named Best New Entrant at the Hewitt Associates' Best Employers in 2005 and Mortgage Choice Lender of the Year in 2006.