Americans Choose Pay Days Over Holidays

MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Capital One Direct Banking (www.capitalone.com/directbanking) released the findings of a new survey that delved into the relationship that Americans have with money.  While the survey explored topics ranging from how savvy Americans are at saving to how honest they might be during these hard economic times, one thing's clear – everyone could use a little more money in the bank.  In fact, 25 percent of respondents who are employed full or part time would work every day of the year if it meant doubling their monthly income.  What's more, 35 percent of respondents would agree to work on holidays and nearly one out of five (19 percent) would agree to give up all of their vacation days to receive twice their monthly salary.  

Furthermore, 27 percent of respondents would keep any amount of money that they found on the ground outside their workplace, and 15 percent have secretly withdrawn money from a joint savings account shared with a spouse or partner.  Personal finance expert Lynnette Khalfani-Cox believes that there are more desirable ways to increase your savings and advises that building wealth could be as simple as automatically transferring money from your paycheck to your savings account every month.  Unfortunately, nearly one in four do not do this according to the survey.  She also recommends comparison shopping to find a savings account that works for you. 

While the survey shows that many would go to great lengths to pad their bank accounts, consumers have more reasonable options at their fingertips.  Capital One Direct Banking recently introduced InterestPlus Online Savings (www.capitalonedirect.com/interestplus) with the goal of encouraging customers to keep more money in the bank and make responsible savings decisions.  With the InterestPlus Online Savings account, customers not only benefit from one of the best savings rates among the top national banks, but those who also maintain an average monthly balance of $15,000 in their savings account or use a Capital One credit card at least once a month receive an extra 10 percent quarterly bonus on interest earned.

"You may not have to sacrifice as much as you think to see your money grow - start by doing research to identify an account with added benefits to boost your savings," says Khalfani-Cox.  "With its high interest rate – plus the opportunity for a 10 percent bonus on interest earned – InterestPlus Online Savings from Capital One Direct Banking is a smart choice that makes it easy to save more."

Features of InterestPlus Online Savings include:

• One of the best savings rates among the top national banks (currently 1.45 percent APY on balances of $2,500 or more)
• 10 percent quarterly bonus on interest earned (paid after the end of each quarter), by maintaining an average monthly balance of $15,000 in the account or use a Capital One credit card at least once a month  
• No fees
• Free online transfers to and from existing external bank accounts
• Free online transfers to and from Capital One Savings and Money Market accounts
• Up to six withdrawals by online transfer per calendar month
• FDIC insured up to $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category
• Easy online application

For more information about InterestPlus Online Savings, or any of the Capital One Direct Banking products, visit www.capitalone.com/directbanking.

Survey Methodology:

The results are based on 1,051 interviews, conducted online January 14-15, 2010 among a demographically representative U.S. sample of 503 men and 548 women.  Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have volunteered to participate in online surveys and polls.  The survey was conducted via ONLINE CARAVAN a service of Infogroup | ORC.  

About Capital One

Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A. and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., had $115.8 billion in deposits and $212.0 billion in total managed assets outstanding as of December 31, 2009. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. Capital One, N.A. has approximately 1,000 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.

Capital One Direct Banking offers great rates on a variety of money market accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit and business money market accounts nationwide.  Customers enjoy convenient and secure access to their accounts and our service representatives via online, phone or mail channels.

SOURCE Capital One Direct Banking