In Belgium

Open banking is regulated by the European PSD2 directive (Payment Services Directive 2), transposed into Belgian law in 2018. This legislation requires banks to share their clients’ account data (with explicit consent) with authorised third-party providers via secure APIs.

In rental management, open banking transforms payment tracking. Instead of manually checking bank statements to spot rent transfers, the landlord connects their account to a management platform that automatically detects incoming payments and matches them to rents due.

Several Belgian rental management platforms have integrated this technology, enabling real-time tracking of collections and near-instant detection of payment delays.

How it works

Connection. The landlord connects their bank account to the management platform via a secure flow (bank credentials + strong authentication). They consent to sharing their transaction data with the platform.

Automatic matching. When a tenant makes a transfer, the platform detects the payment, identifies it via the structured reference and matches it to the rent due. The rent receipt is generated automatically.

Alerts. If rent is not detected by the due date, the platform triggers an alert and can send an automatic reminder to the tenant.

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Good to know
Open banking only provides access to transactions on the connected account. The platform cannot make transfers, modify the account or access other accounts without explicit consent.

Practical example

Philippe, owner of 6 properties in Brussels, connects his ING account to a rental management platform. Every 1st of the month, the platform automatically checks incoming transfers and matches them to expected rents. For 5 out of 6 tenants, the payment is detected and a receipt sent automatically. For the 6th, a delay is flagged and a reminder sent on day 5.

Before open banking, Philippe manually checked his statements each month and cross-referenced amounts with his Excel spreadsheet — a tedious and error-prone process.

Key considerations

Data security. Open banking providers must be authorised by the NBB (National Bank of Belgium) or an equivalent European regulator. Check the authorisation before connecting your account.

Revocable consent. The landlord can revoke access at any time, directly in their bank’s interface or on the platform. Access is generally granted for 90 days, renewable.

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Warning
Open banking only works for payment accounts (current accounts). Savings accounts, blocked rental guarantee accounts and securities accounts are not accessible via this mechanism.