ING DIRECT

ING DIRECT updated its iPhone app with the Bump functionality, allowing its Electric Orange Checking account customers to conduct Person2Person transactions. As a result, users can simply Bump two iPhones to securely send money to one another. In order to start the transfer, Electric Orange customers enter a dollar amount into ING DIRECT’s mobile Person2Person Payment feature and “bump” their iPhones together to initiate an instant payment between two Electric Orange accounts. According to ING DIRECT, this makes it easy to pay a friend back for a meal and avoid the hassle of coming up with exact change. ING’s research suggests that Person2Person Payment will increase 550% from two million in 2010 to 13 million in 2015. To prove the claim, ING cites its figures which show 200% annualized growth in mobile Person2Person Payment usage in Q1 2011 compared to the last quarter of 2010. As a reminder, earlier we’ve seen PayPal adding Bump functionality to its iPhone and Android apps. ING DIRECT (FREE) [iTunes link] Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis. Read More

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business. One of the keys to small business success is managing money. Whether it’s cash flow, credit or expenses, having money when you need it keeps the business going. More importantly, it can enable owners to make the investments necessary to grow their businesses. With today’s smartphone technology, it’s easier than ever to keep track of financial indicators. Here are 21 iPhone apps — all free — to help you stay informed and monitor your finances. Let us know which you use in the comments below. Name your bank, and they probably have an app. Most offer similar features, however a couple have some different options that, depending on your situation, could be valuable. Bank of America, Wells Fargo Mobile and PNC Mobile Banking have mobile banking apps that allow you to check your account balance, pay bills, transfer funds and find banking locations. Citibank also has a mobile banking app called Citi Mobile. Citi’s app also enables users to check account balances, pay bills and transfer funds. In addition, credit card customers can pay their credit card bill, check balances, view recent transactions and track their rewards. Both TD Bank and BB&T offer similar banking services as well as promote the ability to contact their customer service departments directly via the app. SunTrust Mobile Banking gives users access to up-to-date account balances for their checking, savings and money market accounts. I couldn’t determine if they had a list of banking locations within the app. ING Direct’s mobile app has the unique feature of person-to-person payments. Chase Mobile also provides the person-to-person QuickPay option. And, the app allows iPhone users to make a deposit via cellphone. If you make a lot of purchases with a credit card, a couple of credit card companies have apps to help manage your account. American Express provides card members the ability to pay their bill, check balances, view recent transactions, manage multiple cards and check reward points. Discover Mobile offers similar credit card services such as making payments, and viewing recent transactions and rewards activity. In addition, the app provides detailed account information including current balance, minimum payment due, credit available and Cashback Bonus balance. If part of your financial planning includes investments, several firms offer apps to monitor your account. Fidelity Read More

ING DIRECT enhanced its mobile banking suite with the launch of its free AndroidTM App, once again simplifying and easing saving for Canadians anywhere, anytime. Canada's leading direct bank was the first in the country to offer a BlackBerry App while simultaneously launching its iPhone App and mobile website m.ingdirect.ca, and enhanced its iPhone App to support the iPad this past June. The ING DIRECT Android App allows Canadians to bank from their Android devices. This includes locating EXCHANGE Network® ABMs which were announced last month as part of the company's new THRIVE ChequingTM Account, checking their account balances, reviewing transactions, transferring funds, buying and selling The Streetwise Funds®, and getting directions and hours of operation for the ING DIRECT Save Your Money Cafés. The platform also allows Canadians to connect with ING DIRECT on Twitter to talk about saving. "Our Android App is a prime example of our promise to make saving money easier and more simple for all Canadians," said Peter Aceto, President & CEO at ING DIRECT Canada. "When we launched in Canada nearly 14 years ago, we challenged the status quo of banking by offering Canadians a new way to save without brick and mortar branches. Our mobile banking suite which now includes the Android App, enables Canadians to do their banking when they want and wherever they are, with ease." The ING DIRECT Android App is available to all Canadians for free, and can be downloaded by visiting the Android Market icon on the Android device. ING DIRECT's iPad, iPhone and iPod touch Apps are all available in the Apple App Store or at itunes.com/appstore. The BlackBerry App is available at m.ingdirect.ca on BlackBerry devices or by visiting BlackBerry App World™ at BlackBerry.com/appworld. To find out more about mobile banking with ING DIRECT visit ingdirect.ca/saveanywhere. AndroidTM is a trademark of Google Inc. Use of this trademark is subject to Google Permissions. BlackBerry App World™ is a trademark of Research in Motion. iPhone®, iPod touch® and iPad® are trademarks of Apple Inc. ® THE EXCHANGE and ®THE EXCHANGE & Design are registered trademarks owned by Fisery Inc. licensed for use in Canada by FICANEX Services Limited Partnership. ™ THRiVE Chequing is a trademark of ING Bank of Canada. About ING DIRECT ING DIRECT is Canada's leading direct bank with over 1.7 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 Read More

. If you’re from Canada, chances are you can hear the ING Direct spokesperson reading that line to you right now. Call it annoying, or funny, or a little bit of Canadiana, those darn ING commercials have graced our television sets for some time now. In more recent times the company has moved into the mobile world… and for good reason. Most recently we noticed that ING had launched applications for both the BlackBerry and the iPhone. Good on ‘em. The apps let you view rates, check balances, review transactions, transfer funds, locate ABMs, heck, you can even check-in with ING on Twitter. It’s all good if you’re a client with them, for sure. Adding to their mobile reach, ING has just announced the same application is available on Android. All of the same features you’ve come to enjoy in the BlackBerry and iPhone app are inside, and if nothing else, the new app should encourage you to keep on with it, and SAVE YOUR MONEY. For more information just pop open the Android Market on your Android-powered device, and search for ‘ING Direct’. Did I mention, SAVE YOUR MONEY? James was born and raised in Winnipeg, Canada. Almost 15 years ago he started out in the 'real world' as a web and graphic designer. Through the years he has finely tuned his skills in SEO, internet marketing, conversion strategy, and project management. To date, he runs his own successful consulting business where he advises companies all over the globe. A co-founder of www.crackberry.com, and sole proprietor of www.mactropolis.com, James in recent years has become very active in the tech blogosphere. Online community building and strategy is fast becoming one of his passions. Watch for James' no frills attitude, unique perspective and to-the-point comments here on IntoMobile! Read More

ING Direct is my favorite online bank.  They offer decent rates with excellent services.  They have been lagging, though, in the mobile banking market until recently when they unveiled a great new iPhone app.  The app provides core services like checking your balance and transferring money, and it only lacks a few small options that would make it nearly perfect. The ING iPhone app is a significant improvement over their previous app offering which simply forwarded the user to their online website.  Now ING customers will find a familiar login screen that requires a username, picture verification, a few questions, and a PIN.  Similar to the online website, you can allow the app to save your username and skip to the PIN when you open the app on your iPhone.  This allows for a quick sign on, but may be a security concern on the mobile platform. After logging into the app, you’ll be happy to find a simple and clean interface.  Just swipe right or left at the menu on the top to access accounts balances, bill pay options, customer support, and a “Refer a Friend” link.  The bill pay option allows you to send checks to friends when you owe them money making it easy to pay back friends on the spot (similar to Venmo).  One feature I found lacking was the inability to add a friend to your bill pay list via the mobile app.  Only those people who you have added to your online address book are available which is a significant setback to making this iPhone app very useful.  Additionally, the app doesn’t integrate an ATM finder which exists as a standalone app. Best Features All together this app is a great start for ING Direct as they enter the mobile market, and it is helpful to those concerned about their current balance while considering their next big impulse purchase.  Loyal users will enjoy the friendly comments like “Hang On” and “Sorry, we thought you left & signed ya out” that have made the web version an enjoyable experience.  Since ING users tend to like banking online this is a necessary step to maintaining their online reputation, but until options like adding friends to the bill pay address book are available via the phone this app is incomplete. Are you an ING customer?  Have you tried the iPhone app from ING or other banks and what do Read More