Online banking: ING closes hundreds of thousands of accounts


GRAND MÉNAGE – The ING online bank is closing the Orange savings accounts (LEO) of the French. It puts forward the context of low interest rates to justify these closings. More than 300,000 customers would be affected.

Dutch bank ING is cleaning up French customers. This is the end of the very first 100% online bank created 20 years ago. This only concerns holders of a house savings account, the LEO. ING announced at the end of December the end of its online banking activities in France.

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Asked by AFP, ING confirms this Friday that a procedure for closing Orange Savings Accounts (LEO) has been initiated since summer 2021 with customers “who have no other products at ING”. “Customer deposits will be fully refunded”, assures the bank which claims a million customers in France, but which did not wish to specify the number of accounts concerned.

“Customers are informed by ING one month before the closure of their account, according to the general conditions of use”, says the bank. According to Emma Leoty, a lawyer specializing in banking rights, the deadline should be at least two months. She receives numerous files from clients of another online bank, also victims of a sudden and sometimes abusive termination of their bank account. “In July, I received a message telling me that the account was going to be closed, which indeed happened after a month. I have 340 euros which have disappeared”, testifies Valéry, a former customer of the bank N26, in the report of 8 pm of TF1 at the head of this article.

More than 300,000 accounts affected

“By going through a lawyer, the objective is to obtain the release of funds which are in the accounts of customers of online banks and to obtain damages for the time lost following the manipulations he had to be done to reimburse and return the sums “, explains Emma Leoty. A bank is not allowed to keep your money. On the other hand, it can decide without justification to close your bank account.

More than 300,000 accounts could be affected, says the France Conso Banque association, which is based on information from employees and feedback from dissatisfied customers. “From our point of view, leaving banks the possibility of closing without cause a current account or a deposit account, is a completely exorbitant privilege”, argues Michel Guillaud, president of the association.

If a bank decides to close your bank account, you have no choice but to open another one elsewhere and send your new RIB to your old bank to get your money back.

“Banks have to pay to deposit money”

ING advances the low interest rate environment to justify these closings. “The European Central Bank (ECB) applies negative interest rates: the sums deposited by the banks of the euro zone are taxed at -0.5%. In other words, they must pay to deposit money”, she exposes.

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These closures would also concern the livrets A, according to France Conso Banque, an approach that it intends to contest. ING announced on December 21 the end of its online banking activities in France, leading to the loss of around 460 jobs and the sale of the client portfolio in France. “Discussions with third parties” are in progress, adds the bank, without specifying the name of potential buyers.

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