Amsterdam district court has ordered ING to let two consumer organisations see the agreements it made with Google over contactless payments, over concerns about the privacy of customers who use Google Pay to make purchases.
The court ruled on July 16 that ING must give the Consumentenbond, a consumers’ association, and the Stichting Benadeelden in Actie, which represents affected consumers, access to its deal with Google on Android contactless payments. The bank has six weeks to comply, news agency ANP reported.
The judges did not grant everything the two organisations had asked for. ING does not have to hand over certain other material, including its underlying research, because that fed into the negotiations with Google and does not determine consumers’ legal position.
ING stopped offering its own payment app in September 2024. Since then, customers who want to pay contactless with an Android phone have had to use Google Pay, part of a wider shift towards digital wallets among Dutch consumers.
The Consumentenbond went to court earlier this year, arguing the arrangement funnels customer data to a technology company with a record of privacy breaches. The consumers’ association is separately pursuing a broader privacy claim against Google.
“We are glad the court is not going along with the secrecy,” said Consumentenbond director Sandra Molenaar. “ING simply has to account for itself.”
ING said it was studying the ruling, which it described as disappointing, and would not comment further for now, according to ANP. When the case was filed in January, the bank said it was surprised by the action and felt it was being used to make a point against Google.
