Blake Schwendiman's Blog and Blook

After my recent post about ING Direct, Barbara asked a couple of questions:

I also like ING, but I thought there was a couple of days lag between requesting a withdrawal and the actual receipt of funds?

That's a great idea of the mortgage payment earning money for part of the month.

do they calculate on a average daily balance at the end of the month or on a day by day basis?

There is a lag between requesting a withdrawal and the actual receipt of funds. It's just the same as any electronic funds transfer between banks. It takes at least 24 hours, but it may take longer. I still have a normal (read: low-interest) savings account at my credit union for emergencies. My ING Direct account is a more long-term savings account and my mortgage payment manager.

As for the interest payment, it is compounded continuously. In fact, one cool feature of the account is that it shows you how much interested you have earned so far in the month. That's cool and it's encouraging. When you log in and see that you're actually making money with savings, it makes you want to put more aside.

I didn't mention it in my previous post, but ING Direct also has CD accounts (currently paying 5.25%). When I open my CD there, I'll give you the details.