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Discover online payments and e-commerce in Belgium

Get all the information you need to break into Belgium’s e-commerce market

Belgium

General Information

  • Population 11.5 m
  • Population 15 + 9.6 m
  • Online Population 10.8 m
  • Area 30,689 km2
  • Currency EUR
  • GDP 581.8 bn USD
  • GDP per Capita 40,420 USD
  • Card-based payments
  • Cash-based payments
  • Bank transfer
  • Wallets
  • Other 
[{"label":"Card-based payments","value":"45"},{"label":"Cash-based payments","value":"4"},{"label":"Bank transfer","value":"19"},{"label":"Wallets","value":"14"},{"label":"Other","value":"18"}]
Banked population
  • Belgium 100%
  • Western & Central Europe 94%
  • World 67%
Credit card penetration
  • Belgium 51%
  • Western & Central Europe 46%
  • World 19%
Internet penetration
  • Belgium 94%
  • Western & Central Europe 91%
  • World 62%
Smartphone penetration
  • Belgium 84%
  • Western & Central Europe 75%
  • World 70%

4.8 m Belgians shopped cross border to Amazon.de in July 2022.

Inflation in Belgium, like the rest of Europe, is running high at 10% in July 2022. Food and fuel are the main drivers.

Growth is forecast to remain high in 2022 at 2.4% with the rebound from the Pandemic still working its way through the economy, but the situation in Ukraine will affect growth causing it to drop to 1% in 2023.

The two most popular social media platforms for e-commerce in Belgium are Facebook (57%) and Instagram (40%).

Future e-commerce trends (2021-2026)

E-Commerce market size forecast ($US billion)
2022 15.2
2023 16.6
2024 18.2
2025 19.7
2026 21.4
E-Commerce spending per capita ($US)
2022 1309
2023 1431
2024 1555
2025 1684
2026 1815
E-Commerce spending as % of GDP
2022 2.6%
2023 2.7%
2024 2.9%
2025 3.0%
2026 3.2%

Belgium

The E-Commerce Market

Top e-commerce segments

  1. Fashion: 31%
  2. Electronics & Media: 23%
  3. Toys, Hobby & DIY 20%
  4. Furniture & Appliances: 16%
  5. Food & Personal Care: 11%

Cross-border e-commerce

  1. Cross-border proportion of total e-commerce – 23%
  2. Value of cross-border e-commerce – 3.1 bn USD
  3. Online shoppers who have shopped cross-border – 75%

Top 3 cross-border shopping origin markets

  1. The Netherlands: 35%
  2. France: 23%
  3. China: 17%
B2C E-commerce Growth 20->21
  • Belgium 17.9%
E-commerce % of total retail
  • Belgium 9%
  • Western & Central Europe 17.6%
  • World 20%
E-commerce completed on a mobile device
  • Belgium 36%
  • Western & Central Europe 43%
  • World 53%

The Credit Card Split

  • Visa
  • Mastercard
  • American Express
  • Local Schemes
  • Other 
[{"label":"Visa","value":"5"},{"label":"Mastercard","value":"7"},{"label":"American Express","value":"1"},{"label":"Local Schemes","value":"82"},{"label":"Other","value":"5"}]
  • E-commerce market size 13.8 bn USD
  • E-Commerce spending per capita 1,193 USD
  • E-commerce spending as % of GDP 2.4

Belgium

Local Payment Methods

Bancontact Type Local payment card Regions Western & Central Europe Market relevance High BitPay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Payconiq Type Wallet Regions Western & Central Europe PayPal Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High PaysafeCard Type Prepaid voucher Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High PaysafeCash Type Cash Regions Eastern Europe & the CIS, North America + 1 Satispay Type Wallet Regions Western & Central Europe Market relevance Medium SEPA Direct Debit Type Bank transfer Regions Eastern Europe & the CIS, Western & Central Europe Market relevance High Skrill Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Trustly Type Bank transfer Regions Eastern Europe & the CIS, North America + 1 Market relevance High TrustPay Type Bank transfer Regions Eastern Europe & the CIS, Western & Central Europe Allied Wallet Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High UnionPay Type Local payment card Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Apple Pay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Amazon Pay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, North America + 1 Market relevance High Boku Type Carrier billing Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High DaoPay Type Carrier billing Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Google Pay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Klarna Type Bank transfer, Buy Now, Pay Later, Instalments Regions Asia Pacific, North America, Western & Central Europe Market relevance High Masterpass Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Mobiamo Type Carrier billing Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Orange Money Type Wallet Regions Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 1 Market relevance High Razer Gold Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High SEPA Credit Transfer Type Bank transfer Regions Eastern Europe & the CIS, Western & Central Europe Market relevance High SWIFT Type Bank transfer Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High AfterPay Type Buy Now, Pay Later Regions Western & Central Europe Market relevance Medium Lydia Type Wallet Regions Western & Central Europe Market relevance Medium Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance Medium SEPA Instant Credit Transfers (SCT Inst) Type Bank transfer Regions Eastern Europe & the CIS, Western & Central Europe Market relevance Medium G2A Pay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance Medium ING Home’Pay Type Bank transfer Regions Western & Central Europe KBC Touch Type Bank transfer Regions Western & Central Europe Microsoft Pay Type Wallet Regions North America, Western & Central Europe NETELLER Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 SafetyPay Type Bank transfer, Cash Regions South & Central America, Western & Central Europe Market relevance High Sofort (Klarna) Type Bank transfer Regions Asia Pacific, Western & Central Europe Market relevance High Splitit Type Instalments Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3

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