“It may not be a huge amount per year, but this growing trend in paper service costs has been going on for years. On July 1, ING also raised prices.”
At ING, customers with some payment packages pay €1.25 for a monthly paper statement from January, which was €0.75. If they use more than a dozen giro assembly models per year, it will soon be 50% more expensive. And then they’ll pay 75 cents per collection form.
‘Not bound by agreements’
ANBO believes that as the rate increases, ING is not complying with the agreements made at the Social Consultation on Payments (MOB). At the request of De Nederlandsche Bank, consulting firm McKinsey has conducted research into cash infrastructure, and all MOB affiliates are jointly looking at what the future of cash looks like. According to ANBO, the agreement was that banks would not make any rate changes during those consultations, which ING will do from January.
However, ING stated in its response that it is adhering to the agreements. “The changes ING announced last Friday are not covered by the agreements.” The bank will reduce the number of free deposit moments for customers. “Kids can still make three free deposits per month as of January. Adults at least two per month.”
ING also emphasizes that it is looking to older customers. The bank wants them to switch to digital banking as much as possible. This is done in cooperation with seniors’ organizations and libraries. ING staff also provide live consultation hours for customers who want help with online banking. “For people who do not want or cannot bank digitally, we will continue to provide necessary services to these customers,” the bank said.
Pay for cash withdrawal
ANBO does not only criticize ING. The Seniors Association also does not believe that ABN Amro and Rabobank have charged their customers for a number of months to withdraw large amounts of cash is a good development. The Seniors Organization asks why banks should “make it more and more expensive for people without digital skills”.
