Identity verification in Belgium
Executive summary. Belgium is a compact, bilingual (Dutch/French/German) EU jurisdiction where identity verification is solved — on paper — by one of the oldest and most mature state eID stacks in Europe. Every Belgian resident over twelve holds a chip-based elektronische identiteitskaart / carte d'identité électronique (eID), and roughly 7 million of Belgium's 11.7 million inhabitants actively us
Documents supported
(Government IDs from 220+ countries)
Average verification time
Countries covered
(Government-issued IDs validated)
Market overview
With roughly 11.7 million inhabitants, Belgium is the 7th-largest economy in the eurozone and the operational home of two systemically important banks (KBC, BNP Paribas Fortis), one of Europe's biggest bancassurance groups (Belfius), and the headquarters of the SWIFT network in La Hulpe. Brussels also hosts the European Commission, the European Banking Federation and a disproportionate concentration of EU-regulated lobbying and compliance infrastructure. Three things shape the Belgian KYC market:
Supported documents
Didit templates cover national IDs, passports, residence permits and regional documents — plus 14,000+ documents globally for cross-border flows.
Regulators
Banque nationale de Belgique / Nationale Bank van België — prudential and AML supervisor for credit institutions, payment institutions, electronic-money institutions, insurers and (historically
Financial Services and Markets Authority / Autoriteit voor Financiële Diensten en Markten — market-conduct supervisor for investment firms, fund managers, crowdfunding platforms, independent financial
Cellule de Traitement des Informations Financières / Cel voor Financiële Informatieverwerking — the Belgian FIU
Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit / Autorité de protection des données — data protection authority
Gaming Commission; enforces the Gambling Act, runs EPIS, and published Royal Decrees raising gambling age to 21 (in force 1 September 2024
telecoms regulator; relevant for SIM-registration and electronic-communications data retention, but not a KYC supervisor
FPS Interior
regulated
National Register of Natural Persons. Contains identity data for all Belgian residents. Electronic access available to authorized entities via CSAM/FAS platform.
FPS Interior
regulated
Chip-based electronic ID card with digital certificates. Supports PKI-based authentication and digital signatures. Widely used for online identity verification.
Belgian Mobile ID SA
regulated
Mobile digital identity app endorsed by Belgian government and banks. Based on eID. Used for authentication, identification, and digital signing. Available as commercial API.
FPS Economy
open
Central business register. Free online search available.
Government & regulated databases
Compliance framework
AML framework
Supervised by NBB
- Loi du 18 septembre 2017 / Wet van 18 september 2017 — relative à la prévention du blanchiment de capitaux et du financement du terrorisme et à la limitation de l'utilisation des espèces — the AML Law, transposing AMLD4/5 (and since the Loi du 20 juillet 2020, AMLD5). This is the backbone of Belgian KYC. - Art. 19–40 define vigilance à l'égard de la clientèle / waakzaamheidsverplichtingen — the CDD duties: identification and verification of the client, of any beneficial owner, the purpose and
Data protection
Supervised by National DPA
- Legal bases. For KYC processing, controllers rely on Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR (legal obligation under the AML Law) and Art. 9(2)(g) for biometric data, backed by Art. 11 of the Belgian Law of 30 July 2018 which authorises processing of special-category data "for reasons of substantial public interest". -
Penalties for non-compliance
Belgian AML enforcement is historically softer than Dutch or French enforcement — the NBB's Sanctions Committee has issued a handful of published decisions since 2013 — but is now hardening:
Use cases
Neobanks, EMIs, payment institutions, lenders, brokerages.
Belgian banks and payment institutions run a double-rail onboarding model:
Exchanges, custodians, wallets, on/off-ramps.
Belgium introduced its VASP regime through the Royal Decree of 8 February 2022 (arrêté royal relatif au statut et au contrôle des prestataires de services d'échange entre monnaies virtuelles et monnaies légales et des prestataires de services de portefeuille de conservation), in force 1 May 2022. Ke
Sports betting, online casinos, age-gated platforms.
The Commission des jeux de hasard / Kansspelcommissie issues a licence cascade:
Gig platforms, delivery, creator economy, e-commerce.
Marketplaces operating in Belgium fall under:
Biometric liveness
The NBB and FSMA do not prescribe a specific liveness standard, but NBB Circulaire NBB_2018_01 and the joint NBB/FSMA guidance on remote onboarding require institutions to be able to demonstrate that: - the person physically present at the onboarding is the holder of the presented document; - the presented document is genuine and unaltered; - the capture environment resists presentation attacks (printed photo, digital screen replay, 3D mask, deepfake). Belgian compliance officers typically map t
CERTIFICATIONS
Our platform meets the highest international standards for information security, data privacy, and biometric accuracy.
Full EU data protection compliance
Information security management
PAD (liveness + face match)
TRUSTED WORLDWIDE
Join thousands of companies that trust Didit for their verification needs
Didit’s NFC + active biometrics technology blocks the most advanced fraud scenarios, offering a level of security equivalent to or superior to in-person verification.
Spanish Financial Sandbox
CNMV, SEPBLAC & Spanish Treasury — Conclusions Report
Didit is an exceptionally valuable partner, delivering a stable and highly adaptable solution”.
Vuk Adžić
Head of the E-Business Department at Crnogorski Telekom
Didit offered us a robust technology with a simple implementation and adaptability to different markets”.
Fernando Pinto
CEO & CoFounder at TucanPay
Thanks to Didit we have been able to reduce manual processes and improve data extraction accuracy”.
Diana Garcia
Trust & Safety Executive at Shiply
Didit’s integration slashed verification times and costs, freeing resources for other projects”.
Guillem Medina
COO at GBTC Finance
Didit removed KYC costs, enabling faster scaling with high verification standards and less fraud.”
Paul Martin
VP Marketing & Growth at Bondex
Didit’s secure, user-friendly verification boosts customer trust and optimizes our process.”
Cristofer Montenegro
Executive assistant to the CEO at Adelantos
Didit ensures a precise, secure digital onboarding without slowing negotiations or client time.”
Ernesto Betancourth
Gerente de riesgos at CrediDemo
FAQ
Yes. Belgium permits remote KYC onboarding under its national AML framework, including document verification, biometric liveness and video identification where required by regulation.
Didit verifies all major national IDs, passports and residence permits issued in Belgium, plus 14,000+ document types globally for cross-border flows.
Didit charges $0.30 per verification with 500 free checks per month. No contracts, no minimums. Competitors typically charge $1.00–$2.50+ per verification.
Yes. Didit screens against 1,000+ global watchlists including PEP databases, sanctions lists (EU, UN, OFAC, OFSI), and adverse media — covering all AML obligations in Belgium.
Most regulated sectors in Belgium require or strongly recommend biometric liveness detection for remote onboarding. Didit provides ISO 30107-3 PAD Level 2 certified liveness.
Yes. Didit supports document verification, liveness, AML screening and ongoing monitoring aligned with Belgium’s crypto regulatory framework, including EU Travel Rule compliance where applicable.
Yes. Didit provides document-based age verification and identity confirmation suitable for Belgium’s iGaming regulatory requirements.
500 free verifications per month. No contracts, no minimums. $0.30 per verification after the free tier.
