First 10,000 Canadians to begin using THRiVE No-Fee Daily Chequing today

New fee calculator illustrates how bank fees eat away at pocketbook

TORONTO, Sept. 14 /CNW/ - Ten thousand Canadians will be the first to save with ING DIRECT's new no-fee daily chequing account as part of a unique preview announced last month. The first 10,000 Clients will receive an email today inviting them to open a THRiVE ChequingTM Account and encourage them to provide online feedback about the account's unique features ahead of a rollout to all Canadians in early 2011.

The unique Client preview is an important milestone in the evolution of THRiVE Chequing. ING DIRECT developed the product in response to Canadians' frustrations with unfair bank fees. The average Canadian pays $185 annually in bank fees. That adds up to almost $2,000 over a decade, or enough to enjoy one night out at the movies every week for a whole year.

With that in mind, today ING DIRECT also launched a Fee Calculator, which allows users to visually appreciate the impact of fees on their savings and their lifestyles. Canadians can compare their bank fees to their guilty pleasures at ingdirect.ca.

The THRiVE Chequing Account pays interest and offers many no-cost features such as free ABM access through THE EXCHANGE Network's 2,400 machines, unlimited debit purchases, free email alerts and monthly online account statements as well as the ability to write, deposit and view cheques online with no extra charges. It also includes an industry first feature called Whoops! ProtectionTM which covers Clients up to $250 when they are a little short on funds for future dated transactions with no fee or interest, provided funds are paid back within 30 days.

Another industry first is the vertical debit card design that clearly symbolizes that THRiVE Chequing is different than other accounts on the market.

"We're very excited about our Clients using and benefiting from THRiVE Chequing, and really looking forward to their feedback, particularly on some of the account's unique features such as email alerts and Whoops! Protection," said Peter Aceto, President and CEO of ING DIRECT Canada. "Today marks a new era for ING DIRECT Canada, one where our Clients can do all of their day-to-day banking with us and take full advantage of the value we have to offer."

Registration for the THRiVE Chequing Account preview continues at www.your185.ca. More Savers will be invited to open an account in the coming weeks and months.

About ING DIRECT
ING DIRECT is Canada's leading DIRECT bank with over 1.6 million Clients and more than $29 billion in total assets. ING DIRECT gives the power of saving to all Canadians by offering high-value, simple products such as high interest savings accounts with no fees or service charges, and low rates on mortgages. Low cost, index based mutual funds are sold through ING DIRECT Funds Limited. ING DIRECT has been operating in Canada since 1997, and paid more than $4.5 billion in interest to Clients. ING DIRECT is open for banking 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at ingdirect.ca, on mobile devices at m.ingdirect.ca or by calling 1-800 ING DIRECT (1-800-464-3473)

®THE EXCHANGE and ®THE EXCHANGE & Design are registered trademarks owned by Fisery Inc. licensed for use in Canada by FICANEX Services Limited Partnership.

TM THRiVE Chequing is a trademark of ING Bank of Canada.

Follow Peter Aceto on Twitter at: Twitter.com/CEO_INGDIRECT
And find ING DIRECT at: Facebook.com/SuperStarSaver; Twitter.com/SuperStarSaver; YouTube.com/SuperStarSaver

For further information:

Lisa Naccarato, ING DIRECT
416-758-5072
[email protected]

Lynnette Visaya, ING DIRECT
416-758-5544
[email protected]