ING Direct launch long-promised Orange One credit card

It’s been a long time coming but ING Direct has finally started offering a credit card, named the Orange One, to its customers.

In June 2015 Mozo reported that ING Direct had begun developing a credit card product, but until now it hadn’t come to fruition. The bank had held out on introducing a new credit card to customers until it could bring ‘something distinctive’ to the market.

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Fittingly then, the long awaited Orange One card is being advertised with the tagline, “The ‘nothing like the others’ One.” It comes with no annual fee and a low 14.99% purchase and cash advance rate.

One of the innovative features on offer is an instalment plan at a lower 9.99% rate, that allows customers to pay off a purchase or group of purchases with equal monthly instalments over a set term, similar to the structure of a personal loan.

This could be in response to a trend that sees Aussie spenders moving away from credit cards and favouring personal loans, the benefits of which include the certainty of fixed monthly repayments.

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Another new feature aimed at cardholders who want a little more from their plastic, is the option to upgrade to an Orange One Platinum Card, by applying and being approved for a $6,000 credit limit.

This card includes complimentary travel insurance, and for an optional $199 annual fee, freebies lovers can also opt-in to a rewards program that gives 1% cashback on spends of up to $30 per month.

The Orange One’s catch, it seems, may be in the minimum monthly repayment, which clocks in at either $100 or 10% of the card’s balance - easily the highest minimum in the market today. The next highest minimums are half as steep, set at either $50 or 5%.

Although there are plans to make the card available to anyone, at the moment, the Orange One is only available to existing ING Direct customers.

So in the meantime, if you’re after a better value piece of plastic, head over to our credit card comparison tool to find the right piece of plastic for all your spending needs.