The disruption to ING’s internet banking system on Wednesday night may have ‘dramatic’ consquences for shopkeepers, the Dutch retail association told BNR radio.

Thousands of people were unable to use their ING accounts for several hours because they were wrongly overdrawn or unable to see their balances. The chaos forced ING to shut down its internet banking system for a time.

‘The problem may be solved but the discussion is not over,’ spokesman Tom Ponjee told the broadcaster.

Queues

‘The problems caused long queues at check-outs and led to disappointed customers,’ he said. ‘Retailers turn over some €250m a day, so even a 1% reduction is an enormous amount.’

Ponjee called on the central bank to get tougher on ING, given a string of payment problems last year as well.

‘We think banks and the central bank should work together to do more. This could include a better back-up system and communication,’ he said. ‘People were left not knowing what was going on for too long.’

ING said in a website statement on Thursday that the problem has now been solved and apologised for the problems.