The reasons I chose to compare ING Direct, Emigrant Direct, and HSBC Direct is that they are usually regarded as the major players in this area. The accounts they offer are not money market accounts and generally transfers are not restricted in and out of the account. Citi does offer an online savings account but it requires you have a Citi checking account, so they will be excluded from this comparison.
Interest Rates
As of 8/31/06, the interest rates for the three banks are as follows:
- ING Direct: 4.35% apy
- Emigrant Direct: 5.15% apy
- HSBC Direct: 5.05% apy
Emigrant Direct leads the pack in interest rates. ING is no longer competitive. HSBC lags slighty behind Emigrant but 0.1% on $100 is only 10 cents. Historically, Emigrant Direct has been competitive with their rates so if you’re a rate chaser, stashing your money at Emigrant Direct is probably a good idea.
ING International Rates
ING Direct caters to many different countries and rates vary from country to country. You can check out the rates that are offered in other countries other than the United States.
Australia – http://www.ingdirect.com.au/
Austria – http://www.ing-diba.at/
Canada – http://www.ingdirect.ca/
France – http://www.ingdirect.fr/
Germany – http://www.ing-diba.de/
Italy – http://www.ingdirect.it/
Spain – http://www.ingdirect.es/
United Kingdom – http://www.ingdirect.co.uk/
User Interface
All three have simple and easy to use interfaces. Although the ING Direct one seems the most user friendly. HSBC and Emigrant Direct’s interfaces don’t match up to ING Direct. However, it is essentially a bank afterall and user interfaces shouldn’t be at the top of your list for reasons to bank somewhere. All three have user interfaces that are easily usable and navigate.
Transferring Money
To access your funds, you generally have to link your online account to a checking or savings account and transfer money in/out as you please.
I am using the experiment done on MyMoneyBlog as basis for comparing transfer times between banks. The article can be found here.
Basically HSBC has the slowest transfer time while Emigrant Direct surprisingly had the fastest. This should be a factor in considering you want these accounts to be as liquid as possible.
HSBC, however, does offer an ATM or Debit card to go with your account so you can withdraw money instantly. I don’t have any HSBC branches around me so this feature isn’t too useful.
Bonuses
ING Direct offers a sign-up bonus of $25 if you deposit $250. E-Mail me at hejustlaughs@gmail.com if you need a referral.
HSBC Direct no longer offers any bonuses as of date.
Emigrant Direct does not offer any bonuses.
Overall
HSBC offers you the fastest access to your money with their ATM card. This is highly convenient if you live by a HSBC branch or atm.
Emigrant Direct offers the fastest transfer times out of all the three listed above. Emigrant also offers the highest rate for my money. I would have to go with Emigrant Direct because of their fast transfer times and high yielding rates.
However, if you do not have an ING Direct account, you should simple open one up for the $25 bonus. That’s an easy 10% on your money.
Thanks for your thoughts.