There were many a curious onlooker back towards the end of 2012 when ING Direct was purchased by Scotiabank. The sale of ING Direct came surprise and left existing clients covered in a shroud of unanswered questions. It wasn’t until a year later when, after reaching out to 10,000 Canadians, they settled on a new fresh name: Tangerine. Well more of the peel has been removed as they get set to launch on April 8th, 2014. The countdown clock is ticking at T-5!

New Tangerine Accounts

In following the tradition of ING direct, Tangerine pledges to offer simple products without unfair fees. As of the launch date, all of the ING Direct account names will renamed to contain the new fruity moniker.
[table]
Current Account Names,New Account Names
THRiVE Chequing® Account,Tangerine Chequing Account
Investment Savings Account (ISA),Tangerine Savings Account
unmortgage®,Tangerine Mortgage
ING DIRECT Streetwise Portfolios,Tangerine Investment Funds
Streetwise Balanced Income Portfolio,Tangerine Balanced Income Portfolio
Streetwise Balanced Portfolio,Tangerine Balanced Portfolio
Streetwise Balanced Growth Portfolio,Tangerine Balanced Growth Portfolio
Streetwise Equity Growth Portfolio,Tangerine Equity Growth Portfolio[/table]

Bank Machine Access

One of the biggest benefits from the acquisition by Scotiabank is the ability for clients to access the nearly 4,000 Scotiabank ABMs across Canada. In early May, clients will be able to make free deposits and withdrawals from the ABMs as well as change their PINs for their snazzy new Tangerine debit cards.

For those that travel, Scotiabank’s membership in the Global ATM alliance also means no surcharges or access fees when you make cash withdrawals at nearly 50,000 cash machines in 40 countries worldwide!

On the flip side, customers will lose access to the 2,300 ABMs across Canada that operate on the EXCHANGE network as of September 30, 2014.

New Debit Card

New Tangerine debit cards will start making their way around in the coming months to replace the existing ING Direct Client cards. They’ll be linked to your Tangerine accounts and have the same PIN as your current card. Cards will need to be activated by September 30, 2014.

Mobile and Online

As of April 8, clients who visit www.ingdirect.ca will be directed to the new website: www.Tangerine.ca. Tangerine will be introducing some new features on the website, including a new Forward Thinking section to highlight stories about personal finance. The new website also promises to provide a simple and consistent experience across all devices.

Speaking of all devices, a Tangerine Mobile Banking app is in the works and will be available for download on Tangerine launch day. It will run on iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows mobile platforms. The existing ING DIRECT app will remind you to download the new app when it’s ready. Once you have the new app, clients will be able to delete the old ING Direct app.

Cheque-In

ING Direct was the first bank in Canada to give clients the ability to deposit cheques via smartphone. This service will continue to be available and can save a trip to the bank.

Staying Social

Stay connected with Tangerine through social media for the latest updates or for instant support. Be sure to update your network of choice with the following:

[table]
Social Network,Current Handles,New Handles
Twitter,@SuperStarSaver,@TangerineBank
Twitter,@OrangeHelps,@TangerineHelps
Instagram,Instagram.com/SuperStarSaver,Instagram.com/TangerineBank
Youtube,Youtube.com/SuperStarSaver, Youtube.com/TangerineBank
Facebook,Facebook.com/SuperStarSaver,Facebook.com/TangerineBank[/table]

Forward Banking

A smooth transition from ING Direct to Tangerine will go a long way to soothe the nerves of existing clients and may even gain them a few new ones. The switch to the Scotiabank ABM network is a welcome change and a new online experience is sure to freshen things up. The Cheque-In feature has been a breeze to use as I hope will be the case with the new mobile apps. I’m looking forward to the coming changes and will be interested to see some of the new products that they’ve been teasing. In the meantime, I’ve reached out to @OrangeHelps to see if the Orange Key referral program will still be in place. I’ll keep you posted as to what I find out.

Update: Yes, continue to Refer a Friend using your existing Orange Key and build up your savings even more through sharing! …via @OrangeHelps

Use our Orange Key 40822574S1 to get $50 from Tangerine!

Is the Tangerine appetizing?