ING has become the latest bank to remove foreign transaction fees on credit and debit card purchases. ING will also waive all overseas ATM fees from next month.
The offer applies to ING’s Orange Everyday transaction account and the Orange One credit card. Both products have no annual or ongoing fees.
There are a few catches, though. Forex and ATM fees will only be waived if you deposit at least $1,000 per month into an ING Orange Everyday account. You’ll also need to make at least 5 purchases per month from February 2018, in order to enjoy the benefits from March 2018.
The fee-free Orange Everyday account is a regular transaction account which comes with a debit card. This could be an attractive product for international travellers as there are no fees at all for withdrawing cash overseas. In addition to waiving overseas ATM fees, ING will even refund any fees charged directly by the ATM operator.
The removal of international ATM and Forex fees is definitely a positive development and provides another option for fee-free overseas cash withdrawals that isn’t Citibank.
For existing ING customers, it’s mostly good news. However, customers with an ING Savings Maximiser account will now also be subject to the minimum monthly deposit and transaction requirements to continue receiving a high interest rate.
This is a very annoying change. Not to mention the fact that it’s snuck in at the bottom of the email, that’s pretty underhanded.
There’s no minimum purchase for the 5x transactions, so I guess go to Coles/WW and buy 5 pieces of fruit, in 5 separate transactions? Seems like hard work.
The fee-free Citibank Plus transaction account remains one of the best cards for overseas travel. It continues to offer no Forex or overseas ATM fees. Unlike ING, the Citibank account does not require a minimum monthly deposit or spend. The Citibank card is a MasterCard product, which also tends to have a better foreign exchange conversion rate than Visa, which is used by ING. But unlike ING, Citibank does pass on overseas ATM operator fees.
Its a great deal for anyone who is using the ING account for daily use, target market will be the young, especially for online shopping.
But the savvy FF is going to put their spending on a points earning credit card and wouldnt be bothered with it. Citibank Plus is the single best product for using overseas atms, so why even bother meeting ING’s meagre requiremements. Most of us will have better things to do.
Forex fees will also be waived for holders of the ING Orange One credit card. The card joins the growing list of Australian credit cards with no forex fees.
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