Payment methods by country · Payment methods
How do Belgian shoppers pay online?
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Belgian shoppers pay online with Bancontact, using either a Bancontact card or the Bancontact app linked to a Belgian bank account. Stripe calls it a common online method in Belgium. Bancontact is a regulated payment institution supervised by the National Bank of Belgium, with a network dating back to 1979. Cards, PayPal and Klarna pay later in 30 days are also used, and the Wero bank wallet is live in Belgium.
- Currency
- Euro (EUR)
- Local method
- Bancontact card or Bancontact app
- Supervisor
- National Bank of Belgium (Bancontact)
- Buy now, pay later
- Klarna: pay later in 30 days, €1–€1,500
- Bank wallet
- Wero (EPI)
- PlatformDTC offers
- Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Klarna
What PlatformDTC does
PlatformDTC checkout does not offer Bancontact or Wero today. Belgian shoppers can pay with Visa or Mastercard cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal in euros, or Klarna on one-time orders from €1 to €10,000 when the store's Stripe account is in the EEA, UK or Switzerland.
How a Bancontact payment works
On a computer, the shopper types their Bancontact card details or scans a QR code that opens the Bancontact app. On a phone, a button opens the app. Bancontact says it handles over 2.5 billion transactions a year.
Cards in Belgian shops
The ECB's 2024 SPACE study found cards were used for 53% of in-store payments in Belgium. Online, Klarna in Belgium offers one option: pay later in 30 days, from €1 to €1,500.
Frequently asked questions
- Can Belgian shoppers use Klarna on PlatformDTC?
- Yes, on one-time orders. Klarna itself decides the option; in Belgium that is pay later in 30 days.
- Who supervises Bancontact?
- Bancontact Company is a regulated payment institution supervised by the National Bank of Belgium.
Sources
- Bancontact payments — Stripe
- About us — Bancontact Company
- Study on the payment attitudes of consumers in the euro area (SPACE) 2024 — European Central Bank
- Klarna payments — Stripe
- Wero — EPI Company SE
Related
- Netherlands — iDEAL bank payments, now becoming Wero, are by far the usual way to pay online.
- France — Bank cards on the Cartes Bancaires network dominate, almost all co-badged with Visa or Mastercard.
- Austria — EPS online bank transfers are accepted by most Austrian shops, with Klarna and cards alongside.
- Switzerland — TWINT mobile payments are the Swiss favourite, with cards, PayPal and Klarna alongside.
- Ireland — Cards and phone wallets lead; open-banking Pay by Bank and Klarna pay in 3 are newer options.
- Spain — Cards and Bizum, the bank-backed phone payment, with PayPal and Klarna pay in 3 alongside.
- Italy — Cards and PayPal, plus Italian phone wallets Satispay and BANCOMAT Pay, and Klarna pay in 3.
- Portugal — Multibanco references and the MB WAY phone wallet are the local ways to pay; cards follow.