Innovations that excite!
Employees at ING are working hard on developing dozens of new ideas to make your life simpler. So what are they? Here’s a sample of a few ING innovations that have or are due to hit the marketplace in 2019.
Invisible Tickets – We’ve gotta ticket to ride!
What is it? Invisible Tickets enables travellers to pay for their public transport invisibly. A mobile phone automatically detects that you are embarking on a journey, whether it be trains or later on buses or trams. When you arrive at your destination the cost of your journey is calculated and simply debited from your bank account.
How does the customer benefit? No more transport company chip cards, paper tickets or paying on the spot. A mobile phone is all you need. For public transport companies it improves the customer experience without any hardware investment.
What’s the ‘secret sauce’? The Invisible Tickets app uses sensors in your phone to track travels and then charge you for that travel. Where and when you travel opens up new opportunities for public transport companies who, for instance, can warn you of possible delays or cancellations on your regular route.
Anatomy of an idea: Started in ING Labs two years ago when a small team was given three months to look at PSD2 opportunities. All team members (including Andrei Constantinescu, pictured) came from outside of Amsterdam and used public transport to travel to work.
At the moment, Invisible Tickets is being piloted in the Netherlands with the team currently looking at the ‘big four’ public transport using countries in Europe: Germany, France Italy and the UK.
Instant Mortgages - No more home loan blues
What is it? Getting approval for a mortgage can be a long and drawn out process. It doesn’t have to be. ING released a solution in France this month that enables applicants to be granted loan approval in only two days.
How does the customer benefit? By digitalising the many manual processes required for a mortgage and concentrating on making the mortgage process as quick as possible. No stress, no paperwork and almost no time!
What’s the ‘secret sauce’? Instant Mortgages (French only) cleverly collects all the bank transaction data from both within ING and outside of ING necessary to make a decision on whether a mortgage can be granted. This includes bank accounts of competitors (using PSD2 regulations).
Anatomy of an idea. Starting in September 2017, Instant Mortgages, like Invisible Tickets started with ING exploring PSD2 opportunities. In July of the next year, they had already launched a family and friends’ pilot in France and in March 2019 went live. Plans are underway to launch in other ING countries this year including neighbours Germany.
FINN – Banking of Things – You’ll not see nothing like the Mighty FINN!
What is it? FINN – Banking of Things enables smart devices to perform autonomous transactions. Setting a new standard in Internet of Things (IoT) payments, FINN’s software allows consumers to keep control over their smart devices by allowing them to make secure (micro)transactions on their behalf. With this, FINN helps companies to offer ‘pay- per-use’ solutions and to enter the IoT space.
But what is IoT? Devices are getting more and more connected with other smart devices. This is called Internet of Things. Thanks to developments in these types of devices, undesirable things such as a cold house or an empty refrigerator can quickly become a thing of the past.
How does the customer benefit? It’s one thing to pay for something safely and securely online, it’s another thing to put your devices in charge of paying for refills. Imagine your coffee machine paying for new pods before it runs out.
By 2020, around 20 billion devices are expected to make our lives much easier. But what about data and fraud protection? This is where FINN comes into the picture.
What’s the ‘secret sauce’? FINN combines bank security protocols and known payment methods in one service, and offers it open source to IoT companies, a first in the IoT landscape!
Anatomy of an idea: Banking of Things was the 2017 winner of ING Innovation Bootcamp, which gives employees (pictured) the opportunity to submit innovation ideas. In December of last year, it made the first of its software releases and changed its name to FINN. Since the start, it has undergone number of pilots including enabling a car to pay autonomously for a car wash.
