Open banking and real estate: innovations transforming rental
Open banking innovations applied to rental property in Belgium. PSD2 solvency verification, automated rent collection, bank reconciliation and sector trends.
PSD2 and its impact on rental property
The European PSD2 directive (Payment Services Directive 2) has opened the banking sector to third-party providers, enabling innovative services. For rental property, this opening creates concrete opportunities at every stage of the rental cycle: from tenant selection to collection of the final rent.
In Belgium, the four major banks (BNP Paribas Fortis, ING, KBC, Belfius) have offered PSD2 APIs since 2019. The framework is in place, but adoption by the property sector remains gradual. The first rental management tools integrating open banking are beginning to appear, offering landlords a more complete and automated view of their financial management.
AISP (Account Information Service Provider): read access to account data (solvency verification, bank reconciliation). PISP (Payment Initiation Service Provider): payment initiation from the payer’s account (rent collection).
Tenant verification via open banking
The process
- The candidate tenant gives consent via the landlord’s management tool
- The tool queries the candidate’s banking API (via a licensed AISP)
- The analysis covers the last 3 to 6 months of transactions
- A solvency report is generated with key indicators
Indicators analysed
| Indicator | What it reveals | Weight in scoring |
|---|---|---|
| Regular income | Financial stability | High |
| Charges/income ratio | Payment capacity | High |
| Chronic overdraft | Financial fragility | Medium |
| Rent payment history | Rental reliability | High |
| Savings | Ability to absorb an unexpected expense | Low |
Advantages over the traditional method
Verification via open banking is harder to falsify than a PDF payslip. It gives a real-time view of the candidate’s financial situation, not a snapshot at a single point in time. It is a powerful complement to tenant selection.
The candidate’s consent must be free, informed and specific. The landlord cannot make the rental conditional on open banking verification. A candidate who refuses must be able to provide standard supporting documents (payslips, employment contract) without being penalised.
Automated rent collection
Payment initiation (PISP)
Open banking allows the landlord to send a payment request directly to the tenant’s banking app. The tenant validates with one click, without entering an IBAN or amount. The payment is executed immediately.
Operational advantages
- Always the correct amount: after indexation, the new amount is sent automatically
- No forgotten payments: the tenant receives a notification on a fixed date
- Instant reconciliation: the payment is immediately matched to the tenant in the management tool
- Lower costs: payment initiation is often cheaper than a bank direct debit
In practice
The tenant receives a link or notification each month. They validate the payment in their banking app (itsme, BNP Easy Banking, KBC Mobile…) in a few seconds. The landlord is notified instantly and the receipt is generated automatically.
Towards a digital rental deposit
The current process
Constituting a rental deposit in Belgium is cumbersome: opening a blocked account at a bank branch, documents to sign, processing times. At the end of the lease, releasing the deposit requires both parties’ signatures or a decision from the justice of the peace.
What open banking could change
In time, open banking could simplify:
- Constitution: blocking an amount on the tenant’s account via a PISP, without opening a dedicated account
- Monitoring: automatic verification that the deposit is still in place
- Release: automatic transfer based on a digital agreement signed by both parties after the exit property inventory
This scenario is not yet operational in Belgium (legislation requires an individualised blocked account), but legislative changes are being considered to modernise the mechanism.
Trends and outlook
Open banking applied to rental property is still in its growth phase in Belgium. Here are the developments to watch:
- 2026-2027: generalisation of automatic bank reconciliation in rental management tools
- 2027-2028: adoption of payment initiation as an alternative to standing orders and direct debits
- 2028-2030: solvency verification via open banking as a market standard
- 2030+: digital rental deposit and direct interaction between management tools and banking services
For the Belgian landlord, the recommendation is straightforward: choose a rental management tool that progressively integrates open banking features. You will benefit from innovations as they roll out, without having to change tools. To understand how open banking is concretely changing day-to-day management, read our article on open banking and rental management.
Frequently asked questions
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Yes. Open banking relies on secure APIs regulated by the National Bank of Belgium and the European PSD2 directive. Payment service providers (PSPs) offering these services must be licensed and comply with strict security standards (strong authentication, encryption). The landlord or management tool never has access to the tenant's banking credentials. The tenant can revoke access at any time.
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For the end-user landlord, the cost is generally included in the software subscription (no visible surcharge). For software developers, account information service providers (AISPs) and payment initiation service providers (PISPs) charge between 0.10 and 0.50 EUR per transaction or request. This cost is absorbed into the subscription price or charged as a premium option.
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Yes. The four major Belgian banks (BNP Paribas Fortis, ING, KBC, Belfius) have offered PSD2-compliant APIs since 2019. API quality and speed vary between banks, but all allow account consultation and payment initiation via licensed providers. Online banks (Argenta, AXA Bank, Keytrade) also offer PSD2 APIs.
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