ING Direct starts bank fee comparisons on Twitter
The Canadian arm of ING Direct bank has launched the “Fee Tweeter” application which enables users of the Twitter social networking website to compare their bank fees with other members.
The application is a new addition to the fairfees.ca website launched in June by ING Direct, which invites Canadians to speak up about fair – and unfair – bank service charges and fees.
Peter Aceto, president & CEO of ING Direct Canada says the bank decided to launch the service after picking up a trend from Canadians’ feedback on Facebook and Twitter that they are not saving as much as they would like to, especially in the current economy.
He says: “To make it even more difficult, some financial institutions keep increasing and adding more fees, often wiping out any interest that might have been earned, making it even tougher for Canadians to save.”
The new application is open to both existing Twitter users as well as non-users who may post a guest tweet and view the stream of comments posted by other users, thereby providing a single destination for savers to share and compare the bank fees they’ve been charged.
“We are listening to Canadians’ concerns. That means, if they are talking on social media such as Twitter and Facebook, we want to be part of that conversation,” says Aceto. “As a leading online bank, it makes sense that we’d help Canadians talk about their savings in the same space.”