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ING Direct’s Orange Everyday account… free banking, or just a different hoop to jump through?

By Andrew Duncanson 22 September 2009 3:49pmBank accounts, banking, competitionTag: > >

ING Direct has just taken the wraps off its new “Orange Everyday” account.  ING Direct have been hinting for a while now that this transaction account would refund fees charged by ATMs when you withdraw your money.  Now the full details have been announced, and the bad news is that the much-anticipated ATM fee refund only applies if you withdraw $200 or more.  According to the latest RBA statistics, the average ATM withdrawal is about $180.  So in looking for the best transaction account, you really need to consider whether the way you use your account matches the conditions each bank has attached to their offering.  Are you happy to jump through their hoop?

If you always take out $200 cash or more, ING’s Orange Everyday account certainly is worth considering:

  • ATM fee rebated from any ATM in Australia if you withdraw $200 or more.
  • EFTPOS is free, and ING pays you 50c if you withdraw $200 or more as cash out via EFTPOS.  Yes, that’s right: they pay you to take cash out.
  • $20 bonus paid on each of your first salary deposit, direct debit and Visa Debit purchase, if you do them before 2 November.
  • Interest: none, but you can link to their savings account.

If you always deposit your salary to your transaction account, the BankWest Zero Transaction account may suit:

  • ATM fee rebated from any Big 4 (or BankWest) ATM, regardless of the amount.
  • EFTPOS is free.
  • You must deposit $2000 a month or they’ll transfer you to a different account.
  • Interest: none, but you can link to their savings account.

If you keep a few grand in your transaction account, or can’t be bothered transferring to and from a separate savings account, then you might prefer an account that pays some interest rather than worrying about the fees.  For example, the AMP First account pays 4.35% interest, charges $5 a month, and cash is free at nab ATMs, RediATMs and EFTPOS.

And of course if you’d just rather stick with using one bank’s own ATM, most offer an account with no transaction fees for about $4 a month.  Some of these pay a little interest, and some even waive the account fee in certain circumstances.

The move by ING Direct could encourage the major banks to look for new ways to offer fee-free banking, particularly if Brett Morgan, ING Direct’s Executive Director of savings gets his way. “We want to become the Australian consumer’s main bank, their favourite bank; they may bring their whole banking relationship to us”.  It will be interesting to see how many people are happy to do things the ING way.  And it will be interesting to see what other products come out in response, and what sort of conditions are attached.

Compare bank accounts with Mozo.com.au

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