ING: Adoption, Not Ideas, Is the Bottleneck

In this conversation, Marnix van Stiphout of ING addresses a misconception that still dominates many innovation discussions in banking: that progress is limited by a lack of ideas or weak business cases. In reality, he argues, the opposite is true. ING — like many large institutions — has no shortage of strong ideas, compelling use cases, or financially sound initiatives. The real challenge lies elsewhere.

According to van Stiphout, the defining bottleneck today is organisational adoption at scale. The question is no longer whether solutions work, or whether they can technically scale. Instead, it is whether the organisation itself can scale with them. That means ensuring teams across different countries, business units, and functions are ready to operate new solutions consistently and confidently.

This challenge is fundamentally human and organisational. Scaling innovation requires people to work differently, acquire new skills, and take on new responsibilities. It also demands that risk processes, governance frameworks, and operational controls evolve in parallel. Without these foundations, even the strongest innovations risk becoming isolated successes rather than enterprise-wide capabilities.

Van Stiphout is clear that ING already has “big cases” running — initiatives that deliver real value and are actively used in the business. But he is equally candid about the gap between having a handful of large-scale initiatives and running hundreds of them simultaneously. Closing that gap requires ING to continue developing as an organisation, not just as a technology adopter.

The challenge is compounded by ING’s global footprint. Rolling out new capabilities across regions means dealing with different regulatory environments, cultural norms, and levels of maturity. A solution that works well in one market may require entirely different operating models, skills, or controls in another. Preparing the entire ecosystem — people, processes, and governance — becomes the critical path.

This perspective reframes how success should be measured. Progress is not defined by the number of pilots launched or proofs of concept completed. Instead, it is defined by the organisation’s capacity to absorb change repeatedly, without increasing risk or operational fragility. Adoption, not invention, becomes the ultimate competitive advantage.

Van Stiphout’s message is pragmatic and forward-looking. Innovation in banking has entered a new phase — one where the winners will not be those with the most ideas, but those who can turn good ideas into everyday, repeatable practice at global scale.

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