Canadian High Interest Savings Bank Accounts

Note: this review originated on my blog reviewing Citizens Bank, ING Direct, and PC Financial together.

Website: http://www.ingdirect.ca
Account of note: Investment Savings Account, 3.65% as of January 27th, 2008

Catchy ads and fun newsletters call attention to what is actually a rather limited account. You must rely on linking this account to another bank (once you do this, you can transfer money between banks for free), as there are only 7 ATMs in Canada where you won’t be charged fees to withdraw money directly from ING Direct. This might actually encourage you to save your money…

What ING Direct has going for it is the simplest online interface I have ever seen. Online banking beginners will enjoy the flat learning curve:

Key Details
-no minimum balance required
-no cheques available, no online bill payment system
-very accessible customer service by phone

Interesting Facts:
-Get a $13 sign-up bonus by registering at http://www.ingdirect.ca/en/ISAfriends/ before the end of the 2008. I’d post mine publicly, but that might defeat the unbiased approach I’m going for…
-You can choose to stop receiving paper statements from ING Direct (to be environmentally friendly).

Bottom line:
I have accounts at Citizens Bank, ING Direct, and PC Financial and here’s my conclusion:

Use ING Direct for the easy-to-use interface.
Use Citizens Bank for the most powerful, flexible account with the best feature-to-rate ratio.
Use PC Financial for the highest rate if you have more than $1,000.

Latest posts in the ING Direct forum

Forum/Topic		Started	Last Post	Posts
	ING Direct SERIOUS WARNING–TRY TO AVOID ING THRIVE ACCOUNT	January 31, 2012 6:47 am by SERIOUS WARNING	February 5, 2012 11:33 am by paj	8
	ING Direct Help!…… ING direct is holding rsp’s from my mom after my fathers death.	May 10, 2010 10:43 pm by Rick	January 23, 2012 9:06 pm by 88kanaka	32
	ING Direct Where to invest my GICs this year?	October 10, 2008 1:33 pm by Maxime	January 22, 2012 11:10 am by Taiga	28
	ING Direct ING “temporarily” sets TFSA and RRSP investment accounts at 2%	January 1, 2012 9:52 am by Bob	January 18, 2012 12:00 pm by Nightowl	10
	ING Direct $185 Bonus – When Signing Up for Thrive Chequing Account & Adding Your Payroll – ends July 25	July 18, 2011 4:16 am by Jenna	December 30, 2011 10:06 am by Doug Lurker	26