Belgium Payments Market Size (2024 - 2029)

Belgium Payments Market Analysis

The Belgium payments market is expected to register a CAGR of 8.3% from 2022 to 2027. The primary factor driving the market's growth in the region is the strong growth in E-commerce and an increase in contactless payments, among others.

Digital payments are increasingly gaining traction in Belgium. Contactless (card) and mobile payments by smartphone are becoming increasingly popular. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, these ways of paying for goods and services were evidence of a steady shift to digital payments.

The shift towards digital payment methods includes the evolution of the front- and back-end parts of the payment system (instant payments, bill payments, request to pay, plastic cards, and digital wallets) and a revolution that involves structural changes to the payment mix and ecosystem (emergence of buy now pay later offerings, cryptocurrencies, and central bank digital currencies).

The increase in e-commerce in the region has influenced the payment landscape in the country. With the emergence of Covid-19, the region's e-commerce market has witnessed enormous growth as the lockdowns and COVID restrictions have forced shoppers to adapt to online retail and shopping, thus increasing the utilization of digital payment methods. Further, most of the population has adopted online transactions through mobile phones, indicating the acceptance and comfort of mobile-based payments.

The adoption of online payment has also affected the usage of cash. It is reflected in the country's cash withdrawal and usage reduction. According to Febelfin use of cash has declined by approximately 49% from 2012 to 2020, and it is forecasted to reduce by 26.5% by the end of 2025.

The emergence of COVID-19 has increased the need to adopt digital commerce, which increased businesses' adoption of digital financial services to provide goods and services to their consumers. Businesses have increasingly offered services, including digital payments and credit at the point of sale. This adoption of digital services for payments has improved access for finance to businesses, reduced costs, and increased the efficiency of the digital economy.

Belgium Payments Industry Segmentation

The Belgium Payments Market is segmented by Mode of Payment (Point of Sale (Card Payments, Digital Wallet, Cash), Online Sale (Card Payments, Digital Wallet)), and by End-user Industries (Retail, Entertainment, Healthcare, Hospitality). E-commerce payments include online purchases of goods and services such as purchases made on e-commerce websites and online booking of travel and accommodation. The market scope excludes online purchases of motor vehicles, real estate, utility bill payments (such as water, heating, and electricity), mortgage payments, loans, credit card bills, or purchases of shares and bonds. As for Point-of-Sale, all transactions that occur at the physical point of sale are included in the scope of the market. It includes traditional in-store transactions and all face-to-face transactions regardless of the location of the transaction. Cash is also considered for both cases (cash-on-delivery for e-commerce sales).

The study tracks key market metrics, underlying growth influencers, and significant industry vendors, supporting Belgium's market estimates and growth rates throughout the anticipated period. The study looks at COVID-19's overall influence on the Belgium payment ecosystem.