Summary
- Bancontact dominates with 94% of debit cards and 2.5 billion transactions/year
- Payconiq by Bancontact is the mobile payment app (2M users, 471M mobile payments in 2024)
- Wero launched November 19, 2024 - transitioning from Payconiq over 15-18 months
- EPC QR supported by major banks for SEPA credit transfers
- Connected to TIPS for instant euro payments
Banking landscape
Central Bank
- Name: National Bank of Belgium (NBB)
- Website: https://www.nbb.be/
- Role: Monetary policy, TIPS oversight, banking supervision
Major Banks (2024)
| Rank |
Bank Name |
Total Assets (EUR) |
Market Share |
Type |
| 1 |
BNP Paribas Fortis |
266,890 M |
20.16% |
Subsidiary (French) |
| 2 |
KBC Bank |
232,260 M |
17.54% |
Domestic |
| 3 |
Euroclear Bank |
211,820 M |
16.00% |
Clearing/Custody |
| 4 |
Belfius Bank |
187,460 M |
14.16% |
Domestic (state-owned) |
| 5 |
ING Belgium |
~100,000 M |
~8% |
Subsidiary (Dutch) |
| 6 |
Argenta Spaarbank |
53,635 M |
4.05% |
Cooperative |
| 7 |
Crelan |
45,862 M |
3.46% |
Cooperative |
"Big Four" Banks
- BNP Paribas Fortis
- KBC
- Belfius
- ING Belgium
Market Concentration: Top 5 hold ~80% of banking assets
Corporate Penetration: BNP Paribas Fortis >90%, KBC/ING >70%
2024 Financial Performance
- Top 6 banks: €9 billion collective net profit
- Average Return on Equity: 12%
Payment infrastructure
National Payment Systems
| System |
Operator |
Type |
Status |
| TIPS |
ECB/NBB |
Instant payments |
Active (Nov 2018) |
| Bancontact |
BPC |
Card network |
Active (94% market) |
| Payconiq |
BPC |
Mobile payments |
Active → Wero |
| Wero |
EPI |
Pan-European |
Active (Nov 2024) |
TIPS (TARGET Instant Payment Settlement)
- Launch: November 30, 2018
- Settlement: <10 seconds
- Cost: €0.002 per transaction
- Governance: ECB, overseen locally by NBB
Instant Payments Regulation (2024)
- Receiving SCT Inst: Mandatory from January 9, 2025
- Sending SCT Inst: Mandatory from October 2025
- Verification of Payee (VOP): Required
- Pricing: No extra charge vs standard transfers
Bancontact Statistics (2024)
- Cards in Circulation: ~18 million
- Total Transactions: 2.5 billion
- Market Share: 94% of debit cards
- Participating Banks: 24
QR code standards
Payconiq by Bancontact QR (Current Primary)
| Attribute |
Value |
| Standard Name |
Payconiq QR |
| Type |
Mobile payment QR |
| Operator |
Bancontact Payconiq Company (BPC) |
| Modes |
Static (stickers) and Dynamic (terminal) |
| App Users |
2 million |
| Banks: 20 with app access |
|
2024 Statistics
- Mobile Payments: 471 million (+28% YoY)
- In-store Card Payments: 1.9 billion
- Contactless: 1.35 billion
Wero QR (Replacing Payconiq)
| Attribute |
Value |
| Standard Name |
Wero QR |
| Type |
Pan-European payment QR |
| Operator |
European Payments Initiative (EPI) |
| Belgium Launch: November 19, 2024 |
|
| Transition Period: 15-18 months |
|
Wero Participating Banks (Belgium)
- Belfius
- BNP Paribas Fortis
- Fintro
- Hello bank!
- ING
- KBC
- CBC
EPC QR Code (SEPA Credit Transfers)
| Attribute |
Value |
| Standard: EPC 069-12 |
|
| Type: SEPA credit transfer initiation |
|
| Format: BCD structure |
|
| Adoption: 2016 |
|
EPC QR Supporting Banks
- Argenta
- Belfius
- BNP Paribas Fortis
- Bunq
- ING
- KBC
- VDK
EPC QR on Belgian Invoices (Febelfin guidelines)
Febelfin's implementation guidelines for printing the EPC QR code on invoices (v1.0, 2025) apply the EPC guidelines entering into force on 1 February 2026 with three Belgian rules: Version 2 (BIC optional); the structured remittance field ("Creditor Reference (ISO 11649 RF Creditor Reference may be used)") must instead carry the Belgian Structured Communication (written in the guidelines as +++/123/1234/12345+++); and a minimum size of 2 × 2 cm, positioned on the invoice rather than on the transfer form [11]. In the EPC069-12 payload the structured reference (max 35 characters) and the unstructured remittance text (max 140 characters) are mutually exclusive [12].
Belgian Structured Communication (OGM/VCS)
| Attribute |
Value |
| Names |
Overschrijving met gestructureerde mededeling (OGM, Dutch) / virement avec communication structurée (VCS, French) [13][14] |
| Type |
Structured payment (creditor) reference — not a barcode; carried inside EPC QR, transfer forms and ISO 20022 messages |
| Defined by |
Febelfin (Belgian Financial Sector Federation), Additional Optional Service 1 (AOS1), v1.2, 27 July 2017 [13] |
| Scope |
SEPA Credit Transfer, SEPA Instant Credit Transfer and SEPA Direct Debit [13] |
| Electronic format |
12 digits, e.g. 010806817183 [13] |
| Visual format |
+++010/8068/17183+++ (3/4/5 digits); *** delimiters also used [13][14] |
| Check digits |
Last 2 digits = first 10 digits mod 97; if the remainder is 0, the check digits are 97 [13] |
- Febelfin describes OGM-VCS as the national standard "widely used for structured remittance information during decades"; the Belgian banking community committed to its continuity from legacy payments to SEPA payments [13].
- Banks in Belgium validate the check digits on manual (screen) entry, bulk submitters are strongly advised to validate them, and receiving banks must pass the reference to the beneficiary via (electronic) statements [13].
- In ISO 20022 messages it goes in
CdtrRefInf with type code SCOR, issuer BBA (The Belgian Bankers' and Stockbroking Firms' Association) and the 12 digits as Ref [13].
- The first ten digits are typically a customer or invoice number chosen by the creditor [14]; the reference is generally pre-printed by the beneficiary on the European transfer form [15].
- It is the Belgian national counterpart of the international ISO 11649 RF creditor reference; Febelfin's QR-on-invoice guidelines require the structured communication rather than RF in Belgian invoice QR codes [11].
Transition Timeline
| Date |
Milestone |
| November 2024 |
Wero launched in Belgium |
| Spring 2026 |
New dual QR stickers (Bancontact Pay + Wero) |
| 2026 |
Payconiq app becomes "Bancontact Pay" |
| 2026-2027 |
Full Wero integration |
Mobile payment apps
| App Name |
Bank |
Payconiq QR |
Wero |
EPC QR |
| Easy Banking |
BNP Paribas Fortis |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| KBC Mobile |
KBC |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Belfius Mobile |
Belfius |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| ING Banking |
ING Belgium |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| CBC Mobile |
CBC |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Argenta |
Argenta |
Yes |
Coming |
Yes |
Integrated Banking Apps
Major banks (Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis/Fintro/Hello Bank, KBC/CBC, ING) have Payconiq/Wero functionality built into their own banking apps.
Standalone App
Payconiq by Bancontact: Available for 20 banks, becoming "Bancontact Pay" in 2026
Third-party payment apps
| App Name |
Type |
QR Support |
Status |
| Payconiq by Bancontact |
Mobile wallet |
Yes |
Active → Bancontact Pay |
| Wero |
Pan-European wallet |
Yes |
Active (Nov 2024) |
| Apple Pay |
NFC Wallet |
No |
Active |
| Google Pay |
NFC Wallet |
No |
Active |
| POM |
Bill payments |
Yes |
Active |
POM QR Code
- Bill payment service
- QR code on invoices
- Links to banking apps for payment
Schemes
Sources
Full country report
BE-belgium.md