News 

Dutch bank ING Direct already operates in seven other countries and will launch with a no-fees, no-minimum savings savings account with 4.3 per cent (AER), bringing in other services in future.

Ewald Kist, CEO of ING Group, said: 'This launch is set to continue the global success of ING Direct, which has already attracted over 6 million customers worldwide and has funds entrusted of well over EUR 70 billion. ING Direct grows at the rapid pace of approximately 300,000 new customers each month.'

In January 2003, Jupiter Research reckoned that 51 per cent of the online Europeans will be banking online by 2007, with a further ten per cent using online banking services to trade stocks or funds by the same time. It also predicted that the number of those banking online will grow from 54m in 2002 to as many as 103m in 2007, with services such as paying bills on the Web proving popular.

ING Direct can be viewed at INGDirect.co.uk