Financial services group ING has postponed plans to sell details of its customers’ spending patterns to advertisers and has apologised for the upset.

The bank has sent an open letter to customers saying that ‘we were not clear enough about this very sensitive issue’.

‘The reactions make it clear there are many questions and concerns about the protection of customer information. I am very sorry,’ said ING Nederland director Nick Jue in the letter.

Criticism

MPs, consumer groups, the central bank and financial services regulator AFM have all said they are unhappy about the plans, revealed by the Financieele Dagblad earlier this month.

And in a poll for television consumer show Kassa, more than 70% of ING clients said they were considering switching to a new bank.

In the letter Jue said: ‘Let me say it once again. ING will never share your details with third parties, let alone sell them.’

Saving money

The bank says it will now discuss with client groups how it can best help them save money. That, the bank says, was the main reason for launching the trials.

However, retail banking chief Hans Hagenaars told the FD earlier this month the ING plan would be a way of defending the bank’s position in the face of new competitors.

‘If it generates extra fees we will not ignore them,’ he said. ‘But if earning nothing is the price we have to pay to win acceptance in society, then that is a choice we must make.’

However, companies may have to pay ING for approaching their clients, although that has not been decided, the FD said