Belgium wants to make electronic payments mandatory

Belgium’s finance minister Vincent Van Peteghem demands all stores should offer at least one form of electronic payment, in a bid to fight fraud.

Fraud

The minister will defend his proposal in a cabinet meeting soon, Belgian newspaper De Standaard writes. The aim is not to completely ban cash payments, but to significantly reduce them as he feels they are more vulnerable to fraud. While electronic payments are on the rise in Belgium, more than half of all payments (58 %) are still done by handing over coins or banknotes – almost twice as much as in the Netherlands.

Stores would be obligated to offer at least one form of electronic payment – either a physical terminal or a completely virtual service such as Payconiq. This was especially important for independents’ organisation Unizo, which had feared this would turn into an obligation to place “expensive and outdated” physical terminals.