If anyone was wondering, on Thursday morning, what would happen to the thousands of ING customers invited to go elsewhere--40,000 according to Aleba, quoted by L’Essentiel--a visit to social networks and elsewhere on the internet will quickly reassure them: the five banks are clearly showing their appetite to pick up these customers.
“Looking for a new bank?” asks Raiffeisen, using ING's orange for the last three letters of the word “looking.” The cooperative bank, which has always emphasised the care given to its individual customers, is playing this dimension to the hilt, presenting the advantages of “becoming a customer now.”
“Looking for a new bank?” asks Raiffeisen, using ING's orange for the last three letters of the word “looking.” Image: Screenshot of Banque Raiffeisen Linkedin post
For a country that has a red lion as its emblem, Spuerkeess used an orange lion on the ground with a “Didn't see that coming, did you?”
Post emphasised its ability to onboard new customers in ten days. Handy for someone who has just received a letter telling them that they have closed their account with a rival bank, wouldn’t you say? According to its annual report, Post opened 9,300 new bank accounts in 2023 (slightly fewer than in 2022: 9,800).
“Financial institutions are facing increasing regulatory pressure, which is weighing on their profitability. In this context, the costs associated with opening accounts for people from different backgrounds, such as countries at war, at risk or with an insufficient profitability profile, are becoming increasingly difficult to bear. Around 30,000 Post Finance customers do not have accounts with other financial institutions, suggesting a possible situation of vulnerability. Faced with these risks, we are continuing to affirm our commitment to financial inclusion, enabling the most vulnerable people to have access to a bank account,” explained Claude Hansen, head of the commercial department at Post Finance.
BGL BNP Paribas is keeping it simple, simply changing the homepage of its website with the phrase "After orange, go green!” with green, of course, being the colour code of the Franco-Luxembourg bank.
On Wednesday evening, the Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (Bil) created a dedicated page on its website, starting with “Dear ING client.”
On Wednesday evening, ING Luxembourg announced to the press and to its customers that it was stopping mass retail banking services for private individuals in Luxembourg. These customers will have two months to pay off the total balance on their credit cards, transfer any remaining assets to another bank and destroy their bank cards.
In Luxembourg, there are five options for opening a new account: Spuerkeess, Banque Raiffeisen, BGL BNP Paribas, Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (Bil) and Post Luxembourg.
In Luxembourg, these five retail banks are legally obliged to open payment accounts with basic services for any consumer legally resident in the European Union. This measure is designed to ensure that all individuals have access to essential banking services, such as receiving income, payments and day-to-day transactions. The services included in these basic accounts include deposits, withdrawals, direct debit payments, online transactions and the issuing of payment cards.
This article was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.