In response to media reports, ING Bank NV, a Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation, released a statement confirming that its subsidiary Payvision, an online payment solutions provider, is the subject of a criminal investigation. ING confirmed that, while it is not the subject of the investigation, the inquiry concerns possible violations of anti-money laundering regulations that may have occurred prior to ING’s acquisition of Payvision. In September 2018, ING entered into a settlement with Dutch authorities to resolve anti-money laundering deficiencies.
According to ING, the acquisition of Payvision was completed in two phases: in 2018 when the bank acquired 75 percent of Payvision’s shares, and in 2019 and 2020 when ING acquired the remaining shares and Payvision’s former management left the company. As reported by ING, the bank began aligning Payvision’s governance and risks with its own follwoing the acquisition, as well as offboarding and transferring certain customer groups to Payvision’s former management team that did not fit ING’s desired risk profile. ING also indicated that it has taken steps to bring Payvision’s customer records and transaction monitoring in line with regulations, including the use of a new transaction monitoring system, the addition of a Chief Risk Officer to its management team, and the establishment of functional reporting lines for Payvision staff. By early 2022, ING had partially phased out Payvision as a payment service provider.