Originally Posted by ING Direct

We updated our Terms & Conditions back in April to let you know that ING DIRECT has begun to apply a 2% Foreign Transaction Charge when you use your Electric Orange Card outside the US. This update went out to all of our Electric Orange Customers via email.

ING DIRECT is not like other Banks, and while this may be a common charge industry wide, we encourage you to keep in mind that foreign transactions are costly to process. The 2% Foreign Transaction Charge allows the Bank to continue managing overhead costs, allowing us to continue paying high interest on your Electric Orange. Our high interest rates on the Electric Orange are just another example of how we continue to pass the savings on to our Customers!

Although there are a number of ING DIRECT locations world-wide, it is important to remember that each bank is its own entity, and while we are all affiliated through our parent company ING Group, accounts at each institution are held and serviced independently.

To keep things transparent for our Customers, we are separating the Foreign Transaction Charge from the actual transaction, so that our Customers can see exactly what they are being charged. Please keep in mind, if you are a member of the military, you should not be charged for using your Electric Orange Card on a US military base that is located in a foreign country.