ING: what happens if you change or lose your phone
ING Spain, for customers with accounts there, confirms your transactions with Validación Móvil, an own key tied to the device, not your username. Switching phones means deactivating it on the old one and activating it on the new one.
Short version: to validate transactions in the app, ING asks you to create a 6-to-12-character key when you install it, confirmed with a 4-digit SMS code. That key is tied to the phone: with a new one, you have to deactivate it on the old one and reactivate it. To block a stolen card, ING doesn't publish a separate phone number: it's done from the app itself or the client area.
What does ING ask for when you log in from a new phone?
Logging in to your client area needs your usual username and access password. What changes with the phone is Validación Móvil: when you install the app on a device, one of the steps is activating it by choosing your own key, 6 to 12 characters, different from your access password. To activate it, ING sends you a 4-digit code by SMS that you have to enter before setting that key.
This validation is built for a specific device, not for your username in general: if you switch phones, you have to deactivate it on the old one (Menu > Personal area > Validación Móvil > Deactivate) and activate it again on the new one, repeating the same process with a new SMS.
What if you no longer have your old phone?
If you no longer have access to the phone where you had Validación Móvil active, the way forward is logging in to your client area from the website or from the new phone with your username and access password, and activating validation again there. ING doesn't publish an alternative recovery process in its help pages if you also can't remember your access password: in that case, the contact is whatever your client area or the app itself offers.
What to check today
- Do you remember your Validación Móvil key, 6 to 12 characters, without just your phone remembering it?
- Do you know that key is tied to the device and you have to repeat the process on each new phone?
- Do you know how to reach Menu > Personal area > Validación Móvil to deactivate it if you lose your phone?
- Do you know where the "Block for theft or loss" option for your cards is in the app?
If it's already happened to you
If your phone is stolen, block your ING cards from the website, from the app on another device, or from the client area: tap "Configure" on the card and choose "Block for theft or loss." ING doesn't publish a separate emergency phone number for this in its help page: the channel is the client area or the app itself. Call your carrier too, to block the SIM, and if there's a fraudulent charge, ING asks you to file a police report and send them a copy to process the refund.
Official sources (Spanish-language): ING — Mobile Confirmation Service terms · ING — Card FAQs