Even I don’t have time for banking! – Ralph Hamers
27 October 2017
ING CEO Ralph Hamers has told the world’s leading payments and financial services innovation event that despite being in banking for 26 years, even he doesn’t like to make time to manage his financial affairs.
Speaking at Money 20/20 in Las Vegas this week, Ralph said it was no one’s hobby, himself included, to spend their time on financial affairs.
“People don’t have time these days, and even if they did, they don’t want to spend it on banking.”
Ralph described how just before coming on stage to deliver his keynote address, he was in a long line waiting for coffee.
“I was in the line-up, 20 people ahead of me. None of them were talking. All of them were right here - on their mobile phone! This is where people spend their lives these days.”
Ralph said that if you want to be relevant as a bank, you have to be where people are.
“They’re not on the street. You can’t reach them with your branches. They have no interest. They’re spending their lives on social media. Posting their blogs, making their comments, posting their pictures. They’re buying stuff on Amazon.”
Ralph said the banking services on these platforms should be merely a click as part of an experience that is personal, instant, relevant and seamless.
“So as a bank, you need to be completely connected to those social networks or to those platforms where people spend their lives. Or you create a meaningful platform yourself. The ‘go to’ place for financial services.”
Ralph’s comments were part of a speech titled ‘A platform to success: the digital bank of the future’.
His address came just a hours after the announcement of ING Ventures, a EUR 300 million fund to invest in fintechs that can help ING accelerate the pace of innovation.
More than 11,000 representatives of financial technology companies (fintechs), payment service providers, entrepreneurs, investors and banks attended the four-day event.
