# ING Italy and Mastercard Installment Payment Service
source: https://developer.mastercard.com/success-stories/ing-italy/index.md

Installments are incredibly popular in Italy -- with 55% of Italian consumers considering it a distinct advantage to split high value transactions into more affordable monthly payments. Success Story ING Italy and Mastercard Installment Payment Service ING Italy provides consumers with an immediate and flexible way to spread the cost of high value purchases The Challenge Installment options in the Italian market offered limited choice and convenience for consumers - with installment options offered 2-3 days after the purchase was made, once the bank had received the clearing data for the transaction. ING wanted a more immediate and convenient solution, by pre-approving consumers for installment lending before they started shopping, and allowing real-time activation at the point of purchase. They also wanted a seamless integration with their processor SIA, to post the plan as soon as their consumers decide to spread out their cost of their purchase. The Solution Mastercard Installment Payment Service presented a tremendous opportunity for ING Italy, as it enables the consumer to choose to split the payments before, during or after the transaction. It is triggered by real-time authorization data, instead of much slower clearing data, which enables the consumer to know what they can afford before they start shopping and then choose to spread their payments as soon as the purchase is made. Mastercard created a scalable solution which embedded key elements from Mastercard and SIA services to match the needs of ING Italy (and other banks serviced by SIA). This solution was ready-to-use and had minimal impact and cost for the bank. Mastercard's API enabled ING Italy to offer consumers more immediate installment options, pre- and post-purchase. It also provided a new set of web services that enabled the SIA card management system, to post the installment plan immediately to the consumer's account. This introduced an innovative solution to the market, offering cardholders a choice of pre- and post-purchase installments for the first time. No extra development on the card management system was required In-store and online transactions are eligible for installments plans Installment plans can be activated right after transaction authorization Success Metrics 36% of ING cardholders using the Mastercard Installment Payment Service API solution have activated more than one plan 6,500 installment plans have been activated by ING cardholders through the web app 400K ING cardholders are eligible to use the Mastercard Installment Payment Service API solution APIs Leveraged Mastercard Installment Payment Service Flexible yet controlled way for consumers to split higher value purchases across monthly installments, using their existing payment card