ING Offers Belgian Customers Up to 11% Cash Back on Amazon Purchases

ING has teamed with Amazon to help Belgian customers get cash back on purchases.

“Amid the current cost of living crisis, balancing household expenditure has perhaps never been so difficult,” the Dutch banking group said in a news release Monday (Feb. 13).

The release touts that “potential relief” is available via the partnership, which offers ING customers in Belgium up to 11% cash back on an array of products.

ING said Belgian customers could access the program by activating their ING+ platforms, with reimbursements calculated automatically and transferred back to customers. The company says it is the first Belgian bank to offer a cashback deal with Amazon, although it has made similar services available to customers in Romania and Germany.

As PYMNTS reported last year, Europe’s ongoing inflationary pressure has led many consumers to reduce their spending as they face the soaring costs for food and fuel.

That pressure continues on both sides of the Atlantic, with a recent Wall Street Journal report noting that American consumers are “starting to freak out,” as indicated by falling car sales, slumping retail, and decreased service-based spending. 

With consumer spending making up 70% of the U.S. economy, any continued dip in spending could cause a negative financial ripple across all sectors.

But there’s nothing sudden about this consumer spending sentiment. PYMNTS’ ongoing collaboration with LendingClub, “New Reality Check: Paycheck-to-Paycheck Report,” has found that consumers’ concerns have long been running. 

The rise and fall of consumer sentiment have also matched monthly consumer spending for the most part. For example, consumer outlook was at its second highest in October, keeping up with that month’s rise in personal spending rates.

PYMNTS researchers have also been following more subtle signals of a softening economy. While overall inflation may have peaked, the cost of essentials and groceries has stayed high. These continued high prices on must-have items are likely contributing to customers’ already cautious habits and views on cost-of-living rates.

As the number of American consumers living paycheck to paycheck rises across all income demographics, discretionary purchases such as smartphones are experiencing their worst sales drops on record, PYMNTS research found.

Service-based subscriptions could be at risk as well, with more than half of consumers saying they would cancel their streaming accounts if they couldn’t pay all their bills. 

ING’s partnership with Amazon comes weeks after the company formed an extended card-issuing and processing agreement with Worldline that will see Worldline provide debit and credit card issuing and processing services to ING across multiple countries.