ING’s Subscription Banking Shift: A New Fee Battle Begins
ING is moving banking closer to the Netflix-style subscription economy, and the shift could reshape how millions of customers pay for everyday financial services. The Dutch banking group has introduced a global subscription-based model with four plans — ING Go, ING More, ING Extra and ING Max — covering its nine retail markets and around 41 million customers.
The big structural change is simple: instead of charging customers separately for individual banking products, ING wants to bundle daily banking, cards, insurance, lifestyle benefits and partner services into monthly packages. The move has already been tested in markets such as Belgium, Romania and Poland, while the Netherlands launch marks a broader rollout expected to reach countries including Germany, Spain, Italy, Australia and Türkiye.
For ING, this is not just a customer-experience upgrade. It is a revenue strategy. As the post-COVID interest-rate boost fades, European banks are searching for more stable fee income. ING’s net fee and commission income reached €1.24 billion in the first quarter of 2026, accounting for about 21% of total revenue.
The timing is important. Digital challengers such as Revolut, N26 and Bunq have trained customers to accept premium banking tiers in exchange for convenience, perks and app-first features. ING is now bringing that playbook into mainstream banking.
The debate is whether customers will see this as better value or another monthly cost. If ING succeeds, subscription banking could become a new standard across Europe — turning bank accounts from simple utilities into packaged financial ecosystems.
