Linking ING Direct and Emigrant Direct

Written by nickel - 21 Comments

After waiting about a week and a half to gain access to our new Emigrant Direct savings account, I’m pleased to report that establishing a link between ING Direct ($25 account opening bonus) and Emigrant Direct took just two days. And boy was it easy. Simply log into ING Direct, follow the link for Externally Linked Accounts, click Add Link, and then enter the necessary information. The name that you’re looking for is Emigrant Savings Bank, and the ABA routing number is 226070319. You’ll also need your account number. Once all is said and done, ING Direct will make a couple of test deposits in the linked account. Sadly, these deposits totalled just $0.09, but at least they didn’t take the money back like Emigrant does. Once the deposits come through, just log back in to ING Direct, follow the link to the Externally Linked Accounts section, and then verify your account by entering the deposit amounts. Remember, you can have up to three linked accounts. And while ING claims that these all have to be checking accounts, it seems that savings accounts such as those offered by Emigrant Direct work just fine.

Published on November 11th, 2005 - 21 Comments
Filed under: Banking
email this post - digg this - stumble it - save to del.icio.us

Did you find this article useful? If so, please sign up to receive e-mail updates:

Comments (scroll down to add your own):

I haven’t looked too deeply, but I have yet to find an obvious way of linking accounts through Emigrant Direct to an outside account. Do you know of how to do that?
Comment by Blaine Moore — Nov 11th 2005 @ 8:16 am
Blaine: I’m not sure, but maybe someone else around here is.

Comment by nickel — Nov 11th 2005 @ 8:40 am
You have to *mail them a check* from your other account, to act as an initial deposit. From their FAQ:

Can I have more than one checking account linked to my American Dream Savings Account?

At the present time, an individual may have 2 checking accounts linked to EmigrantDirect, including the checking account you used for your initial funding deposit. To add a second checking account you must mail in a check made out to EmigrantDirect for at least one dollar with your EmigrantDirect account number and the words “additional external account” on the Memo line. The name on the accounts must be the same. We can only accept your personal check as a second linked checking account. For your protection, EmigrantDirect places a temporary restriction on transfers to new linked accounts for up to 8 business days
Comment by SMB — Nov 11th 2005 @ 12:40 pm
Does anyone know if ING/Emigrant accounts can be linked to offshore bank accounts say in Hong Kong, Panama or European countries?
Comment by Dude — Nov 11th 2005 @ 12:56 pm
So it sounds like the only way of linking to ING from Emigrant, instead of the other way around, is to set it up that way to begin with (the initial enrollment is all electronic). If you wait, you can’t make the link, as ING Orange Savings accounts don’t have checks.

Comment by nickel — Nov 11th 2005 @ 1:09 pm
Thanks for the information!
Comment by gc — Nov 12th 2005 @ 9:05 am
Oh well. We can’t use my fiancé’s account since the names won’t match on the account, so she will have to look into what options she has for online access to make it easier to transfer money.
Comment by Blaine Moore — Nov 14th 2005 @ 7:46 am
Does anyone have any experience with HSBC Direct? I saw an ad last night on TV, they are offering 4% on Savings (similar to Emigrant) but with no quirky 60 day withholding clause.

See link below
http://www.hsbcdirect.com/

There are some quirky provisions though:
The Bank has the right to ask you for seven days advance notice of withdrawal.

WAIVER OF TRIAL BY JURY
You and the Bank agree to waive the right to trial before a jury in any action for any claims that may arise from or relate to your deposit account including, but not limited to, contract, negligence, use, attorneys-in-fact, restraint, and execution
Comment by MrOpine — Nov 14th 2005 @ 10:34 am
It took me around 5 days to get my money from ING into Emigrant. And while the money disappeared from ING the very next day, it didnt appear in the Emigrant for another 4 days.
So where was my cash for 4 days? I did try calling Emigrant, but they were of no much help.
But the 4% interest was worth the experiment!
Comment by coolgirl — Nov 14th 2005 @ 12:18 pm
Here is a little more info on HSBC Direct.
According to http://www.bankrate.com, HSBC has a 5 star rating and a 1 on Safe & Sound rating vs. Emigrant’s 3 Star rating and 3 on Safe & Sound rating.

Additionally, HSBC Direct only has a 7 day waiting period whereas Emigrant has a 60 day waiting period.

Both banks are paying 4% APY on their savings. Both offer electronic funds transfer. HSBC is a global bank with branch offices in just about every major city (although HSBCDirect withdrawls not currently available).

I’ve made a decision to not open an Emigrant direct account and open an HSBCDirect account. HSBC is a much safer and larger financial instituition with global reach. Emigrant is limited to New York and has quirky withdrawl provisions. I’ll post later on how smooth the process is opening an account.
Comment by Guest — Nov 17th 2005 @ 3:16 pm
Sounds great. I’m looking forward to hearing about your experiences. Thanks!

Comment by nickel — Nov 17th 2005 @ 11:48 pm
Unfortunately, you cannot do this electronically anymore. I linked my ING to my HSBC account a few days ago, and then tried to link the ING account to my Emigrant account a day later, but was unable to do so as the option was not in the “My Links” section anymore. I called ING customer support and they told me that they found a glitch in the system and disabled electronic account linking. You can only use physical checks now.
Comment by bitstreamer — Nov 21st 2005 @ 9:07 pm
Which one has a shorter period to add/take out money
Comment by bigman — Nov 29th 2005 @ 6:23 pm
Thanks, I was trying to find out what the routing number for Emigrant direct.
Comment by Loi Tran — Nov 30th 2005 @ 8:23 pm
What do you mean the Emigrant has a 60 day waiting period? Its say that you can have a withdraw in 5 days. I also have seen HSBC, I’m getting upset with Emigrant for it’s taking so long to open a account. I’m on my 3rd week were ING took 1 week.
Comment by Hmcfly — Dec 3rd 2005 @ 2:24 am
Hmcfly, they can hold your money for 60 days; they don’t normally, and in most circumstances probably won’t.
Comment by Blaine Moore — Dec 5th 2005 @ 8:10 am
I use bankrate.com to find the highest interest rates at the moment. Check this out:

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/ra.....amp;sort=2

(Notice how Emigrant is #13 while ING is at 24?? And I have both of them! Emigrant’s a pain in the azz but the higher APY is good.) I’m going to GMAC. I have a CD through them and they’re phenomenal.
Comment by lisalisa — Dec 16th 2005 @ 9:26 am
has anyone had experience with closing an account at EmigrantDirect? I have been with them for 8 months and the interest is good, but their “customer service” people are a little gruff. How about their performance on transfers out?
Comment by moe — Mar 15th 2006 @ 4:35 pm
Providing residential financing for homebuyers and homeowners in the state of Florida. We offer a wide range of programs included FHA, Conventional, sub prime and hard money loan placement of Good Credit and Bad credit loans.
Comment by Thomas Martin — Oct 3rd 2007 @ 2:03 am
Wow, thanks for this info, which I haven’t cared about until recently. This will come in VERY handy for me now that Emigrant isn’t always paying more than ING.

I also had trouble finding my routing number, but in the Account Details section, look near the top for where it says, “For information regarding Balance or Interest click here. To print a direct deposit slip click here.” The direct deposit slip shows the routing number.
Comment by Debbie M — Mar 24th 2008 @ 10:01 am
Dang, when I tried to transfer something from Emigrant to ING, Emigrant showed no change to my account and ING showed a deposit, but then reversed it the next day with the comment “Reversal Reason: Linked Account not for ACH.”
Comment by Debbie M — Mar 31st 2008 @ 10:09 am