Strategy

ING’s strategy is built around our purpose of empowering people to stay a step ahead in life and in business. We aim to fulfil our purpose with our two strategic pillars: providing superior value to our customers and putting sustainability at the heart of what we do.

Superior customer value

We know people don’t need banks, they need banking. Our promise to you is to make banking frictionless, removing barriers to progress and giving people confidence in their ability to make decisions and to move forward. This frees you from the constraints that stand between you and your passions and encourages you to do more of the things that give your life meaning.

As a customer, you expect an experience that’s personal, easy, relevant and instant. What this looks like depends, of course, on what sort of customer you are. For individual customers and small businesses, ING’s emphasis is predominantly on mobile banking, while for mid-corporate and Wholesale Banking clients it’s all about personal relationships and superior sector and network expertise supported by seamless digital delivery.

Customers are who we’re here for, our reason for being. At every step of their ING journey, they should feel an emotional connection with us. Banking is a relationship just like any other, and the best relationships are those in which people feel valued, confident, empowered and in control.

Sustainability at the heart

We have a role in society to define new ways of doing business that align with economic growth and social impact. Climate change is one of the world’s biggest challenges, threatening both our planet and its people, many who also struggle with inequality, poor financial health and even a lack of basic human rights. We’re determined to be a banking leader in building a sustainable future for customers, society and the environment.

We lead by example by striving for net zero in our own operations. We play our full part in the low-carbon transformation that's necessary to achieve a sustainable future, steering financing towards meeting global climate goals and working with clients to achieve their own sustainability goals. And we manage the most relevant environmental and social risks.

Four enabling priorities

To fulfil its strategic ambitions, ING has what we call four enabling priorities, or four things we need to do. These are:

Providing seamless, digital services. We know that we can make customers happy with robust, 'always-on' channels, data-enabled personalised experiences and digitalisation of processes with limited human intervention there where needed.

Using scalable technology and operations. A technology and operations foundation that is modular and scalable brings many benefits, including superior customer experience and safety, speeding up time-to-volume, shortening time-to-market, and lowering cost-to-serve.

Staying safe and secure. Trust is the starting point, the most basic requirement, for all stakeholders. That’s especially true for a digital-first bank like ING. People trust us with their money and with their data. Keeping it safe and maintaining this trust, are crucial.

Unlocking our people's full potential. We want all ING employees to have the skills and capabilities to equip them for the future. We also want to provide them with an excellent employee experience and promote a diverse, inclusive and vital culture where everyone feels they belong.