Yahoo Finance ING’s pricey change for Aussie customers ‘Real blow’
ING has frustrated customers with changes to its Orange Everyday account.
Aussies with the popular ING Orange Everyday account will no longer receive a refund on fees charged by overseas ATM providers from August 1, and will only get ATM fee rebates on domestic ATMs five times a month.
Travellers accessing cash overseas know all too well how costly it can be to take money out of an ATM. Each withdrawal usually attracts an international ATM fee from your own bank, a currency-conversion fee and a fee from the ATM you’re using.
On a $500 withdrawal, that can add up to $25 or $30 in fees, sometimes even more.
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ING currently refunds all three fees, as long as customers meet the bank’s monthly terms and conditions – an offer no other bank matches.
But now, the ATM rebates will be capped at five per month, including those made at Aussie ATMs.
From August 1, the bank will also no longer refund any third-party ATM operator fees that occur overseas.
So, what can you still get?
ING will still provide rebates and waivers for currency-conversion fees, ING-owned overseas ATM fees and domestic third-party ATM fees, but again these will be capped at five times per month.
So, if you’re using one of those ATMs at your local shopping centre, which charges $2.50 to withdraw money, you will still get the rebate, but only as long as you don’t make more than five withdrawals in a month.
You will also need to meet ING’s monthly condition to deposit at least $1,000 into the account and make five transactions per month.
Customers with this account also get up to $100 cashback on their utility bills per year.
‘Real blow’ for customers
ING’s decision to scrap the popular rebate is likely to upset many travellers who rely on the account to dodge costly ATM operator fees when overseas.
“This move from ING is likely to frustrate many of the bank’s loyal customers who’ve had the luxury of not having to worry about overseas ATM fees for years,” RateCity.com.au research director Sally Tindall said.
“ING’s decision to stop refunding third-party ATM fees is a real blow for travellers with this account, who will now have to plan how and where they access their cash on holidays.”
Tindall said Aussies looking to travel would need to think about how they would pay for things and how much cash they’d need.
“While many popular holiday destinations will let you tap for almost anything, in others, cash is still king,” she said.
“A $5 or $10 fee might not seem like much when you’re busy enjoying your holiday but, if you need cash regularly, you could find you’ve shelled out over $100 in the space of two weeks.
“That said, many ING customers will be happy to stick with this transaction account in order to unlock access to the bank’s 5 per cent ongoing savings rate.”
Does any other bank offer something similar?
RateCity analysis shows there are eight banks that have at least one transaction account offering no currency-conversion fee, and 10 with at least one account that waives their own bank’s international ATM fee.
Bank accounts with perks
Bank | Overseas ATM fees (from own bank) | Currency-conversion fees | Overseas ATM fees - from operator | Other perks | Admin fees | Notes |
ING Orange Everyday | $5 (up to 5 refunded/month if conditions met) | 3%. Waived if conditions met | 5 refunded/month - finishing August 1 | 1% cashback on utility bills, up to $100/yr. Domestic ATM refunds (5/mth including O/S refunds if conditions met). | $0 | Conditions for fee waivers: deposit $1K+/mth and make 5+ transactions. |
ubank Spend | $0 | 0% | At cost | $20 cashback on sign up. | $0 | |
Macquarie Transaction acct | $0 | 0% | At cost | 4% interest on funds in account. Third-party ATM fees refunded in Aus. | $0 | |
HSBC Everyday Global | $0 | 0% | At cost | 2% cashback on purchases under $100, up to $50/month. Hold up to 10 currencies. | $0 | |
Virgin Money Go | $5 | 2.50% | At cost | 10,000 Virgin Money points on signup the 8 pts per $1 spent | $0 | |
Bankwest Qantas Transaction Acct | $0 | 0% | At cost | Earn Qantas points on daily balance, purchases and O/S ATM withdrawals | $6/m, waived if you deposit $2K+ | |
ME Everyday Transaction Acct | $4 | 2.30% | At cost | Third-party ATM fees refunded in Aus | $0 | Currency-conversion fee = 1.5% ME fee +0.8% Mastercard fee |
Up | $0 | 0% | At cost | Competitive money-transfer fees | $0 | |
Suncorp | $0 | 0% | At cost | $0 |
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