Japke Kaastra

“Financial health is a topic very close to my heart”, confirms Japke. “It’s an area in which we as a bank can do a lot – both for and beyond our own customers and employees. I believe it’s infinitely important to figure out how we can encourage people to improve their financial fitness. How can we motivate young people to save? How can we stimulate self-employed people to arrange disability insurance and a pension? And how can we encourage everyone to build a financial buffer?”  

Common goals

The bank is not tackling such issues alone. “Far from it. The key to achieving results lies in collaborating with a highly diverse group of public and private-sector partners, including other banks. We’re all pulling together, based on our common goals. That’s how the Dutch Debt Support Route and the National Coalition for Financial Health got off the ground, for example, together with the Dutch debt foundation SchuldenlabNL, among others. Another great programme is Niemand Buitenspel (‘Nobody offside’), in conjunction with the Dutch football association KNVB. ING is proud to be a main sponsor.” 

“Thanks to our involvement in initiatives like this, I’ve built up a large network of people who are all intrinsically motivated to help people get – and keep – their finances on track, both now and in the future. Thanks to that network, it’s increasingly easy to launch sub-initiatives. In my experience, a couple of highly motivated people are all you need to initiate positive change. I find that very encouraging.” 

Rich nation

“A lot of attention is paid to the importance of financial health in the Netherlands. We are a rich nation with a lot of wealthy people. But there’s also a large group of Dutch people who struggle to make their money stretch until the end of the month. And that can happen to anyone. Life events such as illness, divorce or unemployment can all too often trigger the onset of financial problems.” 

“ING can make a significant difference thanks to its wide reach. Our mobile banking app has 7.1 million log-ins a day; that’s 7.1 million opportunities to offer customers personal insights that help them make financially sound choices. So we provide tips, such as to apply for healthcare benefit if your child is about to turn 18 – which amounts to almost €1,500 a year. Or to try to build a financial buffer to cushion the blow of any setbacks. Or to consider investing in combination with saving. We also work together with other organisations. For example, in our app we’re pushing the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment’s campaign warning youngsters about the risks of ‘buy now, pay later’ online shopping.” 

Small steps and big leaps

“So whether in small steps or big leaps, we’re moving towards better financial health for all Dutch people – and it’s already having an effect! A tip in the ING app about retrospectively applying for benefits was the year’s top-performing digital message. And the Round-up & Save tool is a big hit. It’s used in particular by customers with limited savings. The small amounts they save over the course of the year cover almost the entire cost of their health insurance deductible.” 

Successes like these are what drive Japke, who remains committed to measurably improving the financial health of Dutch households. “Within the National Coalition for Financial Health, we’ve set ourselves the goal of 50% fewer financially vulnerable households by 2030. That’s a prime example of a ‘blow up boundaries’ goal – a term that was coined by Paul Polman, former head of Unilever. Only big ambitions lead to big results. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved so far both within and outside of the bank – and especially in collaboration with partners – to improve people’s financial health. But I’ll only be super proud when we achieve this goal by 2030.”