Barefoot Investor slams ING over sneaky move: 'Manipulated'

By NICHOLAS COMINO, POLITICAL REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 02:58, 2 August 2026 | Updated: 02:58, 2 August 2026 The Barefoot Investor has taken aim at ING's new savings account, arguing the bank has complicated a product it claims will make earning bonus interest easier. Scott Pape weighed in after ING shared details of its new 'Savings Booster' account ahead of its launch.  The product offers new customers a variable rate of up to six per cent on balances up to $500,000 for the first four months, provided they increase their balance by at least $100 each month. Pape has famously advocated for ING accounts to use as part of his multi-account 'bucket' strategy. In a response to ING executive Adrian Kamellard, Pape likened the account's conditions to dealing with his children before bedtime. 'You remind me of ... me on a Sunday night,' he said.  Pape said he often tries to motivate his children with a reward tied to a long list of conditions. '"You can watch one episode of Octonauts," I say, smiling,' he wrote. Scott Pape (pictured) criticised ING executive Adrian Kamellard and the bank's new account '"If... you set the table. Eat all your dinner. Clear the table. Have a bath. Wash your hair. Brush your teeth. Set out your uniforms for tomorrow".' 'That is your new improved account, Adrian.' Pape reserved his sharpest criticism for ING's claim that the product simplifies bonus interest. 'Your press release gushes that the Savings Booster will "make bonus interest easy to understand and deliver greater value for customers",' he wrote. 'You've created three separate rates stacked on top of each other. A Welcome rate of 0.60 per cent, which only runs for four months.  'A Boost rate of 3.15 per cent, which you only get if you grow your balance by $100 that month, excluding interest. And a Base rate of 2.25 per cent, sitting underneath.' He argued the account's headline rate does not tell the full story. ING is famously recommended by Pape as part of his multi account 'bucket' saving strategy 'After four months the Welcome rate vanishes and your "up to" quietly drops to 5.40 per cent,' Pape wrote. 'Miss that $100 hurdle once, because the car needed tyres or Christmas came, and you're back on 2.25 per cent.' Pape said ING was using incentives to influence customer behaviour, much like a parent trying to get children through their evening routine. 'All these rules, dressed up as being for their benefit, are really designed to get me what I want,' he said.  He said customers would eventually see through the strategy. 'Kids are smart. They wake up to the fact they're being manipulated,' Pape wrote. Despite the criticism, Pape conceded the account still offers a competitive rate and admitted he would likely take advantage of it himself. 'So here's what I'm going to do,' he wrote. 'I'll set up an automatic transfer the day after payday, clear the $100 hurdle without even thinking about it, and get on with my life.' 'It's a good rate, after all. But let's not pretend you're doing it in my best interests.' Daily Mail contacted ING for comment.