ING

Over my lifetime I've had an account with just about every bank in NSW - Westpac, Commonwealth, ANZ, St George, etc., and tolerated each one for years. I finally opened an account with ING when they first started out as Orange. This was a savings account attached to my regular bank account, and when they brought out the everyday account I opened an account with them and closed my regular account, and linking my savings account with my new ING everyday account. I cannot recommend ING more highly, for the quality of their accounts, and their outstanding customer service. ING is banking online, with an app also available for your mobile phone, and the site is very easy to navigate. You're issued with a Visa debit card to use at ATM's and EFTPOS etc, and you pay the ATM fee but are reimbursed that fee almost immediately by ING, so you never pay for ATM fees, ever! There are no bank fees and the savings account linked to your everyday account pays interest, plus a bonus interest at the same rate. I once had my account wiped out of $700 in 5 minutes flat, by someone in America who somehow got hold of my details. The bank texted me about unusual activity straight away and after checking my account I phoned them on their 24 hour phone line. I had to cancel my card but they organised a new account I could access quickly and transfer from my savings account so I had some cash, and they told me it might be up to a month to get my money back. However, it was all back into my account in less than a week, and the inconvenience was so little that if it happened again, I would have every confidence that ING would take care of it. I've since had to dispute some transactions, and ING have come through for me every time. And the icing on the cake is that every now and then, they offer some fantastic bonuses. I recently was given a $70 Myers gift card because I took out contents insurance with them. One that comes up often is the $100 bonus for you and anyone who opens an account with ING over a certain period, and the conditions are easy. They just have to open an everyday account and a linked savings account, then deposit a minimum amount into the everyday account for one month (I think it's $1,000), like your pay cheque, and make 4 transactions with your card in that month. Then at the end of that month you will both have your accounts credited with $100. How easy is that? I've had bad experiences with most banks. One time when my son was young, he would save all his coins then deposit them into a kids account he had. One time he didn't make any transactions in 12 months so they took an inactivity fee of $35, which was half of what he had in there. I stormed into our branch, demanded the account be closed and my son be given the balance, and called them "nothing but legitimate thieves, stealing from a child". So having been with ING for over two decades, I can honestly say that I have not had one single problem with them, I'm very, very happy with their products and service, and I actually make money with this account, instead of losing it to fees and penalties, which is what has happened with every other bank I've dealt with. If you want a good bank then maybe go somewhere else. If you want a fantastic bank, then ING is it!