How to set up Shopify Payments in Belgium: step by step

You set up Shopify Payments in your Shopify admin through Settings > Payments > Activate Shopify Payments. You need a Belgian business (or residence in Belgium as a sole proprietor), your company number, an ID document and a business EUR account. Shopify then verifies your details, you switch on Bancontact, test the checkout and go live.

This guide is part of our overview of Shopify payments in Belgium and the Netherlands. New to the basics? Read what Shopify Payments is first.

What do you need to set up Shopify Payments in Belgium?

Have this ready before you start. Most delays come from details that don't match official documents exactly.

A Belgian business. A sole proprietor must live in Belgium. A company or non-profit must be registered in Belgium, with a Belgian address.

Your company number for a BV, CV or non-profit (vzw). The legal name and number must match the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (KBO).

A business EUR account that supports SEPA, with an IBAN that starts with a supported country code such as BE. Savings accounts and flex-currency accounts don't work.

A valid ID document of the representative, as a colour photo (PNG or JPEG) with all four edges visible.

Your beneficial owners: everyone with 25% or more of the shares, and the directors where required.

An address that isn't a PO box and a phone number that may appear on your customers' bank statements.

EUR as store currency. Choose it before your first sale: changing it later is only possible through Shopify Support.

Also check whether your products are allowed. Some sectors can't use Shopify Payments. Then you need a different payment provider.

For our clients, we email the verification questions in advance. That way everything is ready before we hand the store over to the client.

Step 1: activate Shopify Payments in your admin

In your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Payments. In the Shopify Payments section, choose Activate Shopify Payments, or Complete account setup if Shopify already prepared your account. Only the store owner can do this. A staff account doesn't see the button.

Fill in your personal details, address and identification.

Fill in your business details: legal form, company number, address and what you sell, with the legal name as registered in the KBO.

Confirm the legal representative: name, date of birth and address. Shopify may ask for an ID document.

Enter the phone number customers see on their bank statement.

Check everything and submit your details for verification.

Which business type do you choose?

Step 2: complete the verification

After you submit, Shopify reviews your details. A review of uploaded documents can take up to 24 hours. If Shopify needs extra documents, you get a notification that takes you to the upload page.

You can already sell before verification is complete, but payouts can be on hold until everything is verified.

According to Shopify, new Belgian accounts have 90 days from the first processed order to complete verification (checked in October 2026).

Switch on two-step authentication right away. Without it, your payouts can be held.

Names must match your ID exactly, without nicknames or abbreviations.

Document requests appear in the notification centre of your admin and in the store owner's inbox. Check both, including spam.

Step 3: connect your bank account and set up payouts

After verification, go to Settings > Payments > Shopify Payments and connect your bank account. Enter the full IBAN, without spaces. Pick the account you want to keep right away: if you change it later, your payouts pause for 3 to 5 business days.

Under Manage you choose a daily, weekly or monthly payout schedule. Switching is free. There you also set the name that appears on your own bank statement (5 to 22 characters), and you can switch on an email for every payout.

Step 4: switch on Bancontact, iDEAL | Wero and Klarna

Cards are on by default. You switch on local payment methods in the Shopify Payments payment methods, through Settings > Payments > Shopify Payments > Manage.

Bancontact only appears for customers in Belgium who pay in euros. Your store must accept EUR and Belgium must be an active market in Shopify Markets. First switch off any Bancontact method from another provider.

iDEAL | Wero is also available in a Belgian store. It appears for Dutch customers when the Netherlands is an active market. Shopify also requires a published legal notice (imprint) for it.

Klarna can be switched on for customers in Belgium and the Netherlands, among others. Klarna requires an email address in the checkout.

Apple Pay, Google Pay and Shop Pay are switched on automatically once Shopify Payments is active, at no extra cost.

Bancontact and iDEAL | Wero may need an extra review by Shopify. Plan for that.

What each method costs per plan is in Shopify Payments fees and rates. Everything about Bancontact, with a checklist for when it doesn't show, is in how to activate Bancontact on your Shopify store. Still deciding between providers? Read Shopify Payments vs Mollie.

Step 5: statement name, phone number and fraud settings

Name on your customer's statement: 2 to 19 characters, with your store name, legal name or URL. A recognisable name stops customers from disputing a payment because they don't recognise it.

Phone number: required, so customers can reach you when something goes wrong.

Fraud prevention: Shopify recommends the automatic settings. You can also decline payments that fail the CVV or postcode check (AVS). AVS is off by default and increases the number of declined payments.

You don't need to switch on 3D Secure separately. Shopify Payments asks for it automatically when your customer's bank requires it, as PSD2 prescribes.

Step 6: testing with Shopify Payments test mode

Switch on test mode through Settings > Payments > Shopify Payments > Manage > Test mode. That only works once your setup is complete. Then place a few test orders with Shopify's test cards.

Use any future expiry date and any CVC: 4 digits for Amex, 3 for other cards. The dispute card shows you how to respond to a chargeback.

Bancontact and iDEAL | Wero don't work in test mode. Test them after launch with a real low-value order and refund it. You don't get the transaction fee back on a refund.

Don't fulfil test orders, and switch off automatic fulfilment apps beforehand, or you pay for shipping labels.

Done testing? Switch off test mode, or real payments won't be collected. Never switch it on in a store that is already live.

How we test at a launch

At every launch we test a payment with each method, a B2B order, a refund and a chargeback. We make the first real payment ourselves. And give your store some time in the first week: customers need to get used to it.

Go-live checklist

Verification complete, no open document requests in your notifications

Two-step authentication active for the store owner

Bank account connected and payout schedule chosen

Store currency EUR, Belgium (and the Netherlands) active as a market

Bancontact visible in the checkout for a Belgian address

Statement name and phone number filled in

Fraud settings checked

Successful and declined test orders tested, then archived

Test mode switched off

Old payment provider deliberately deactivated or deliberately kept

First real payment (card and Bancontact) placed and refunded

Switching from another provider

Using Mollie, Stripe or PayPal today and moving to Shopify Payments? Keep these points in mind.

Combining is allowed, but costs extra. Next to Shopify Payments you can use at most one direct external provider. Shop Pay and the local methods through Shopify Payments then cost 1.25% extra, and transactions with the other provider pay the Shopify fee. This doesn't apply to Plus merchants with a signed contract.

Switch off conflicting methods first. You can only activate Bancontact through Shopify Payments once any other Bancontact gateway is off.

Saved payment details don't move automatically. If you use a subscription app, plan that migration separately.

Old orders stay with your previous provider. You process refunds for those orders there. So don't close that account right away.

Always keep more than one payment method active. A payment method that stands between your customer and the sale is the most expensive PSP.

Not sure switching pays off? Compare your current costs with Shopify Payments in our payment simulator and also look at what Shopify costs in total.

Common mistakes during setup

Bank account rejected: a savings account, a flex-currency account or an IBAN with spaces.

Verification failed: your name or business name differs from your ID or the KBO, or your address is a PO box.

Bancontact not visible: test mode is on, Belgium isn't an active market, the store doesn't sell in EUR, or another Bancontact gateway is still on.

Document request missed: it's in your notifications or in the store owner's inbox, sometimes in spam.

ID upload fails: check the format (PNG or JPEG, in colour, four edges visible) and try another browser or the Shopify app.

Statement name too short or unrecognisable: Shopify then adjusts it and emails you.

What we learned in the Shopify Community

Bancontact for Belgian customers from a Dutch store. Activating Belgium seemed to force a Dutch store to ship to all EU countries. Our take: add Belgium as a separate market in Shopify Markets, after which Bancontact integrates smoothly. Source: Shopify Community, January 2025.

Payments stayed on pending. Card payments came in, but every transaction stayed on pending and no payout followed. There was a document request that only showed up in the notification centre. Our take: after activation, we check the notification centre ourselves. Source: Shopify Community, December 2024.

The ID upload kept failing. Uploads of a driving licence and passport failed repeatedly and payouts were paused. The thread is unsolved; other merchants suggest another browser, an incognito window or the Shopify app. Source: Shopify Community, September 2025.

Email and phone stayed unverified. After filling them in again they stayed unverified, so payouts stayed on hold. Several merchants reported this until early 2026, with no solution in the thread. Source: Shopify Community, February 2025.

How 6th Man helps

For every store we build or migrate, we set up Shopify Payments as part of the project. Before we switch anything on, we go through your current payment mix, who your customer is and how large your tickets are: not every method fits every sale. Then we activate the methods your customers use and test the checkout before launch. See how we build a custom Shopify store.