ING Direct has a high yield checking account called Electric Orange Checking account. Launched fairly recently, the features of this Electric Orange account include:

• Great user interface for payments
• Same-screen initiation of electric (ACH) or paper payments
• 24-hour payment delivery for $15 fee
• High-payment limits: $100,000 for paper, $25,000 per day on debit card, $5,000 for ACH, and $1,000 per day on ATM withdrawals
• No fees
• 30-second account setup for existing ING Direct customers
• Easy-to-use website and online access
• No paper checks

The ING Electric Orange’s main differentiator is a rather a unique feature – “no paper checks.” You can use billpay instead of checks to pay businesses, and a send paper check feature to get a physical check in the mail.

For those cases that you need to hand someone a check, you can use their send-paper-check feature and mail yourself a paper check and then hand it to the person. You’ll just have to wait a few days for it to arrive by mail. This is the only issue that may make this checking account problematic.

Ideally, the individual that you need to pay would accept the Electric Check. However, they have to agree to give you their bank account number and routing number. ING describes the process:

Once you review the details for accuracy and press the send button, the money will be deducted from your account and an email will be sent to your recipient. Tell them to look for it. They can then use the link within the email to go to a secure page and confirm their account information. Provided their entry matches what you initially entered, the transfer will be completed!

Here’s what ING says about those concerned about giving out their account number:

We understand the importance of security when it comes to account information. However, remind them that every time they wrote a check in the past, they were disclosing their account number, even if they didn’t realize it. It’s at the bottom of the check.

Even though the account number is on every check, I believe people will still be hesitant to give out their account number.

While the no paper checks option can work for some people, it definitely does have some limitations.  The account features an okay interest rate but there are definitely higher rates available. If you’re looking for a hassle free, fee free checking account with a large institutional bank, ING’s Electric Orange account may be the perfect fit. Otherwise, you can probably find better rates from other rewards checking accounts.