More Merging of Capital One 360 and Capital One Bank

It has been 29 months since Capital One completed its acquisition of ING DIRECT and 18 months since ING DIRECT was converted to Capital One 360. The merger of the two banks continue. Capital One 360 just notified customers that they can now view their Capital One Bank accounts (those opened at branches) when they log in. Here’s how Capital One 360 described it in an email to customers:

1. Get a snapshot of your Capital One Bank account info on your Capital One 360® ‘Account Summary’ page. Next time you sign in to our website, you’ll see the account name, number and balances for Capital One Bank accounts (along with your 360 account info). If you need to do more, you can click on the account and sign in to capitalone.com.

2. Make instant transfers between your Capital One 360 accounts and your eligible Capital One Bank accounts. That’s right, instant transfers – from both the website and the mobile app – same as moving money from one 360 account to another.

The merging process is still not yet complete. If you want to view transactions or check your account details on your Capital One Bank account, you still have to sign in at capitalone.com. Capital One 360 says this is temporary and they’re "hard at work trying to create a seamless experience between your Capital One 360 and Capital One Bank Accounts."

Another thing that is not merged is the ability to access your Capital One 360 accounts from Capital One Bank branches. A Capital One 360 FAQ still says:

Can I use a Capital One Bank branch to service my Capital One 360 account(s)?

No, you can’t drop into a Capital One branch for help (the nice bankers won’t be able to pull up your account), but call us at 1-888-464-0727 from 8 AM to 8 PM and we can help you out.

It’s likely that Capital One will not add this capability since that would add branch costs to Capital One 360.

Capital One Bank has over 900 branches in Washington DC and in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Texas and Virginia.

Way back in 2007 I had opened a Capital One checking account at an Austin branch to take advantage of a 5% APY guaranteed for one year. Since the account remained free and I had some long-term CDs, I kept the checking account. I’m now happy to see that I’ll have access to this checking account through Capital One 360.

I’m not sure if there is any benefit with keeping this Capital One Bank checking account since I no longer live near a Capital One branch. The interest rate has long ago fallen to low levels after the 5% promo ended. I still have checks from the account (I received several books of free checks when I opened the account.) This isn’t much of an advantage now that you can get 50 free checks from your 360 Checking account (After the first 50, a checkbook will cost $5).

Several years ago when Capital One announced the acquisition of ING DIRECT, there were worries about ING DIRECT changing for the worse. I have not seen any significant negative changes at Capital One 360. It appears Capital One has allowed Capital One 360 to operate pretty much as it had done before the acquisition. The website functionality, customer service and rates have remained inline with what existed before the acquisition. Some of the deposit rates have remained competitive. The rates of the savings account and the top tiers of the checking account continue to be competitive. They have never been rate leaders for internet banks, but they have never been below average for internet banks. However, the CD rates continue to disappoint. There were occasional good CD deals before the acquisition. Since the acquisition, I haven’t seen one good CD deal at Capital One 360.

Have you seen any negative changes at Capital One 360? Are you still happy with your Capital One 360 accounts?