ING and Belgian bank KBC have joined forces to launch an integrated mobile payments and loyalty platform in Belgium, combining the Dutch bank's payment app Payconiq with loyalty platforms Qustomer and KBC’s CityLife.
Last year, ING developed payment app Payconiq and also bought loyalty platform Qustomer, while KBC worked with CityLife, a loyalty platform that enables buyers to save for a personal goal or a good cause, and added its own mobile payment app to the platform.
Qustomer enables consumers to save and spend loyalty points in shops, using a physical card with a QR code or a smart phone. Currently, one million users and 2,600 retailers in Belgium take part, while ING's Payconiq is accepted at 3000 high street stores. CityLife, meanwhile, was co-founded by KBC in 2015 as a loyalty platform that is currently active in the Flanders region of Belgium.
The forthcoming integration between the two will create a unified mobile payments and loyalty platform that is already used by over a million Qustomer, CityLife and Payconiq consumers and 6,500 retailers.
Rik Vandenberghe, CEO ING Belgium, says: “The tremendous customer feedback about both Payconiq and Qustomer strengthens our conviction that as a bank we constantly have to innovate. And as far as innovation is concerned, we strongly believe in the power of cooperation. This cooperation helps us introduce outstanding digital services in Belgium.”