Belgium is full of quirks and round-about procedures for doing things that in other countries we hardly give a moment's thought. In less frequent cases this can be celebrated as innocent Belgian peculiarity, like having completely different place names (Mechelen/Malines or Liège/Luik).
In daily situations it's harder to see the funny side. As any visitor will soon discover, few things are as frustrating as just paying for something. Forget whether you can afford it, actually making the darn payment is far more trouble than it should be. Want to pay by card? Only if it's Bancontact (a payment operator specific to Belgium). Cash then, after tracking down the nearest ATM 20 minutes walk away.
You wouldn't know it but lawmakers have long been trying to get to grips with the business of payment, efforts that aren't simply in vain but seem to create fresh complications and essentially leave the vendor to decide what works best for them. For over a year it has been mandatory for retailers to accept electronic payment, an ostensibly helpful measure until some decided to accept only card payment (think food trucks and the like).
Now eager to ensure that those without a card aren't without the means to access some goods and services, a new law is being discussed that would oblige businesses to accept cash as well, despite previous concerns that this opens the door to counterfeit currency and money laundering.
But this is complicated by the move earlier this year to ban cash payment on trains precisely because it was seen as a safety concern for ticket guards. All of which will make you think at least twice before buying something. I'll save the rant about Belgium's biggest con – "jetons" – for next time.
Fumbling for your wallet? Let @Orlando_tbt know.
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1. Belgium to oblige companies to accept cash payments
The Federal Government is on course to pass legislation which would effectively force Belgian businesses to accept cash payments, Le Soir reports. Read more.
2. Rivalling Eurostar: New company sets sights on international rail market
Another company is looking to offer train services from the Netherlands to London and Paris with two stops in Belgium, which would further expand the high-speed train market in the country. Read more.
3. PFAS water pollution: 'Standards never exceeded in Brussels,' Maron confirms
Brussels Minister for the Environment, Alain Maron, has responded to concerns regarding the safety of the region's drinking water in the wake of the developing PFAS pollution issue. Read more.
4. German Foreign Minister confronted by protestors calling for ceasefire at Brussels event
German Foreign Minister Annaline Baerbock was confronted at an event in Brussels on Monday by protestors calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Read more.
5. Brussels open-air pool Flow nominated for European Architecture Awards
The Flow open-air swimming pool in the Brussels municipality of Anderlecht has been nominated for the EUmies Awards, the EU prizes for contemporary architecture. The nominations include a few other well-known Brussels buildings as well. Read more.
6. Over 14,000 plants to be added along the Brussels Canal
In recent years, Brussels has become a greener city, however, these natural spaces and plants are not evenly distributed across the region. A large joint project aims to change this, specifically around the concrete-heavy Canal area. Read more.
7. Wil’s power: 'What would you have done?'
Jeroen Olyslaegers’s gut-wrenching story of Wil, an Antwerp policeman during the Nazi occupation, is now a stunning movie, reanimating ghosts from the dark era of Flemish wartime collaboration. Read more.
