Coin by Coin . com

Coin by Coin loves ING Direct.

ING is a bank run by the Dutch. Dutchmen are a no-nonsense, fair dealing, punctual, get-stuff-done kind of people. Their tiny nation should, by all rights, be underwater. But no! The Dutch hold back the ocean with casual grace as though it was no effort (which of course it is). If the tiny Dutch nation could build an empire then, by god, they can run a bank.

ING Direct is an online-only bank without physical branches. The Dutch know how to keep their costs down (no buildings) and thus their interest rates up. ING’s rates are substantially higher than what local banks offer.

ING also keeps costs down by firing customers. The Pareto Principal is true for all things: 20% of the people cause 80% of the problems. Rather than spend time on the constant complainers, ING just stops doing business with that 20%.

In addition to Dutch Efficiency, ING has some nice features over other banks. ING lets you, very easily, open up 10 savings accounts. Better yet, they don’t number accounts like other banks (Now what was I using account number 78234578292547809522 for anyway?) they let you name your accounts. When I log in, my accounts are ‘New computer fund’, ‘Emergency fund’, ‘Vacation’ and ‘Gifts for the wife’. Much nicer.

Lastly, they seem to be the only bank that takes internet security seriously. While it means that I do have to think a little before getting access to my funds, I also don’t have to worry that anyone is going to slip a single coin past those eagle-eyed Dutchmen.

Open an ING account right now and start saving.

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Header photograph by pinkspleen