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
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