Since the outbreak of the corona crisis, merchants and banks have become aware of the need to pay digitally as much as possible. Paying by card and smartphone is therefore an extremely safe and hygienic way to pay for purchases, especially if it is done contactless. The Belgian adjusted his payment behavior accordingly and seems to continue this new digital habit.

In June this year, 35% of all payments were made contactless. For comparison: in February this percentage was 16, in May it was 32.

The banks continue to fully support consumers, companies and self-employed people who are under financial pressure due to the corona crisis.

In June, more than 22,000 new loans were granted to companies for an amount of more than 4.5 billion euros. SMEs in particular benefit from this banking support. With more than 20,000 new loans, they account for the majority.

In addition, banks have granted more than 134,127 deferments of payments for business loans since March 31. This concerns a total underlying credit volume of 22.9 billion euros or an average of 170,000 euros per credit. Here too, the largest number of payment deferrals are granted to SMEs and the self-employed (more than 80%).

As for private individuals, banks have granted more than 123,356 payment deferrals for mortgage loans since March 31, 2020. The total underlying credit volume amounts to 13 billion euros or an average of 105,000 euros per loan.

Since May 20, private individuals can also request a payment deferral for their consumer credit. Such a deferment was granted 5,091 times for an underlying credit volume of 104 million euros.