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Selling online in Belgium as a foreign shop comes down to five things: a shop in Dutch and French, written for Belgians rather than for the Netherlands or France; Bancontact at the checkout; your company details on the site; Belgian consumer rules on prices, withdrawal and accessibility; and, if you sell to Belgian businesses, invoices over Peppol since 1 January 2026. Get those right and the rest of the market works much like its neighbours.
Belgium has 11.8 million people in three regions: Dutch-speaking Flanders, French-speaking Wallonia with a small German-speaking area in the east, and bilingual Brussels. Shoppers buy from the Netherlands, France and Germany every day, but they notice when a shop is not written for them. We are a team in Ghent and build shops and sites for this market every week; this guide is the list we would give a foreign seller over coffee.
Languages and regions
A national shop speaks Dutch and French. Dutch in Belgium is Flemish in wording, and French in Belgium has its own terms; a shop copied from a Dutch or French site reads as foreign. The language of labels, manuals and warranty terms follows the region where you sell, so a shop that ships nationally provides them at least in Dutch and French. Customers in the German-speaking East Cantons appreciate German, but few shops offer it.
Search terms differ too: Belgians search for "webshop", "solden" and "gsm", where people in the Netherlands use other words. Do keyword research per language in Belgium, not in the neighbouring country. How we set up a site in French and Dutch, with URLs per language and hreflang, is in a website in French and Dutch, and in more detail on multilingual website development.
One country, three regions, two main languages
Language of the shop
Flanders: Dutch, written for Belgians
Wallonia: French
Brussels: French and Dutch
Labels, manuals and warranty terms
Flanders: at least in Dutch
Wallonia: at least in French
Brussels: French and Dutch
Customer service
Flanders: in Dutch
Wallonia: in French
Brussels: both, English helps
Search terms
Flanders: Flemish wording, not the Dutch of the Netherlands
Wallonia: Belgian French
Brussels: both sets
Bancontact at checkout
Flanders: needed
Wallonia: needed
Brussels: needed
German
Flanders: not needed
Wallonia: the German-speaking East Cantons
Brussels: not needed
The language rules for labels and manuals follow the region where you sell; a national shop covers all three.
Paying in Belgium
Belgians pay online with Bancontact, the national debit card scheme, by card or in the app with a QR code. Visa and Mastercard follow, with PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay after them. A foreign shop without Bancontact asks many Belgians to pay in a way they do not usually choose. Check that your payment provider supports it; most European providers do. The full picture per country is in payment methods in Europe.
The rules a foreign shop meets
| Topic | What Belgium asks | What it means for your shop |
|---|---|---|
| Company details | name, address, company or registration number, VAT number, contact | on the site, easy to find; see company number on your website |
| Prices | total price with VAT, delivery costs before the order | VAT at 21 percent for most goods, 6 percent for some, such as books and food |
| Withdrawal | 14 days for consumers, with the withdrawal button since 19 June 2026 | notice and model form in the customer's language |
| Accessibility | the European Accessibility Act, in Belgian law since 28 June 2025 | micro-enterprises from 28 June 2030; see the European Accessibility Act |
| Cookies | consent before analytics and advertising cookies, as the Data Protection Authority reads it | a banner with reject next to accept |
| Sales periods | the word "solden" or "soldes" outside January and July was restricted | the Council of State set the restriction aside in May 2026; other price rules remain |
| Packaging | producer responsibility for household packaging, through Fost Plus | check with the Interregional Packaging Commission whether you must join |
Sales periods. Belgium long reserved the words solden and soldes for January and July, with a quiet period before each in which clothing, shoes and leather goods could not be announced at a discount. On 20 May 2026 the Council of State set aside the restriction on the word as incompatible with the EU directive on unfair commercial practices. The law has not been changed yet, and the other rules on announcing price reductions, such as showing the lowest price of the previous 30 days, still apply. Check the state of play before you plan a campaign around January or July.
Selling to Belgian businesses: Peppol
Since 1 January 2026, businesses established in Belgium and registered for VAT exchange structured electronic invoices with each other over the Peppol network. A foreign seller without a Belgian establishment is not obliged to send Peppol invoices, but Belgian customers will ask for them, because their accounting runs on Peppol now. Being reachable on Peppol makes you easier to buy from. How it works and how to register is in e-invoicing in Belgium; whether your situation triggers Belgian VAT registration is a question for your accountant.
Marketplaces and delivery
Amazon opened amazon.com.be in October 2023, in Dutch and French, and Bol, the Dutch marketplace, is widely used in Flanders. Many Belgian shoppers compare a shop with those two before they buy. Delivery expectations are close to the Netherlands: next-day delivery for most parcels, pick-up points as a common choice, and clear costs before the checkout. Parcels to Belgium from the Netherlands, France and Germany take one to two days with the large carriers.
The order we would tackle it in
- Write the shop in Dutch and French, for Belgium, with Belgian search terms per language.
- Add Bancontact to the checkout, next to cards and PayPal.
- Put your company details, VAT number and contact on the site, and the withdrawal notice and button in both languages.
- Check accessibility of the shop and the checkout, and the cookie banner.
- Settle VAT and packaging with your accountant and the packaging authorities.
- If you sell to Belgian businesses, get reachable on Peppol.
Selling in Germany next? Its rules are in selling online in Germany.
What Belgian shoppers expect, in short
| Expectation | What to offer |
|---|---|
| Delivery | next day for most parcels, with pick-up points as an option |
| Payment | Bancontact first, then cards and PayPal |
| Language | Dutch and French, with Belgian wording |
| Returns | a clear 14-day route, ideally with a Belgian or nearby returns address |
| Contact | email and phone in the customer's language, with hours in Belgian time |
Being found by Belgian buyers
Google is the search engine of nearly all Belgian shoppers, and it ranks Belgian pages for Belgian searches. A shop on a .nl or .fr domain can rank in Belgium, but pages written for the Netherlands or France compete against Belgian sites that use Belgian words. What works: a Belgian version of the shop in a subfolder or on a .be domain, written with Belgian search terms per language, and a Google Business Profile if you have a showroom or pick-up point in Belgium. Links from Belgian sites, such as trade associations and local press, help that version rank. How we approach search for a multilingual site is in international SEO strategy.
Customer service and reviews
Belgian shoppers expect customer service in their language, Dutch in Flanders and French in Wallonia, and read reviews before they buy from an unknown foreign shop. Answer in the language of the question, and if you use a review platform, show reviews in both languages. A Belgian phone number or a clear contact route with opening hours in Belgian time builds trust quickly.
Belgium for foreign sellers
Do I need a French and a Dutch version to sell in Belgium?
To sell nationally, yes in practice: product labels, manuals and warranty terms follow the language of the region, and shoppers in Flanders and Wallonia expect the shop in their language.
Which payment method do Belgians use online?
Bancontact, by card or in its app, followed by Visa, Mastercard and PayPal. A Belgian checkout without Bancontact loses buyers.
Do foreign companies need to send Peppol invoices in Belgium?
Not if they have no establishment in Belgium. Belgian business customers will still prefer them, because their accounting runs on Peppol since 1 January 2026.
Can I use the word solden outside January and July?
The Council of State set the restriction aside on 20 May 2026 as contrary to EU law, but the law itself has not been changed yet. The other rules on price reductions still apply.