Loan's nil interest credit card a first

ING Mercantile Mutual Bank, the only specialist bank in Australia which distributes mortgages solely through advisers, has launched a new home loan product with a unique commission structure.

ING Mercantile Mutual Bank, the only specialist bank in Australia which distributes mortgages solely through advisers, has launched a new home loan product with a unique commission structure.

Called the Smart Home Loan, it also claims to include Australia's first true nil interest credit card.

Head of marketing Mark Mullington says: "Rather than taking an exist-ing product and trying to make it work, this product was built from the ground up the meet the needs of advisers.

"We designed it to be particularly easy for advisers to sell. It is simple to explain and it is easy for customers to administer."

Advisers can choose from a range of service and commission options depending on their priorities, and the level of service support they require.

The options range from providing the service (with high volume com-mission) to simply referring prospective clients to consultants (with the choice of up front or trail commissions).

The product enables home-owners to consolidate all of their existing accounts - such as savings, cheque, credit card, personal loan and mortgage accounts - into an all-in-one account. In addition, home owners can use the nil interest Visa Card account for day-to-day spending and cash advances.

Up to 75 per cent of the value of the home can be borrowed, of which 3 per cent (or a maximum of $10,000 - whichever is the lower) is then allocated to the fee free Visa account used for everyday expenses.

At the end of each month, the amount spent in Visa account is auto-matically swept into the loan account and the Visa account available balance is renewed. This means that the only interest incurred is based on the balance of the home loan account.