Atos Worldline boasts more than 30 years of experience active in the development of all aspects of electronic payment. Undisputed leader of the sector in Belgium, the company is more passionate than ever regarding its prospects.
The major steps in electronic payment in Belgium
Before 1976. All payments were made in paper money. Cheques and transfer were widespread. The number of bank accounts was exploding obliging the banks to automate procedures. Interbank collaboration is an example for all and forms the basis of the present payment network.
1977-1980. Banking IT opened up new
services. Bank note distributors offered three functions: cash withdrawal, verification
of account balances and the issue of transfers.
The project for a single network of automatic cash dispensers failed. Two
networks were in competition: Mister Cash and Bancontact.
1979. The major Belgian and Luxembourg banks launched the credit card Eurocard Belgium-Luxembourg.
1982. The Crédit Européen Belgium issued the first Visa cards in Belgium. The company involved shopkeepers in the network.
1986-1989. The Mister Cash and Bancontact networks merged, to the great relief of shopkeepers and consumers. Banksys was created to manage the new single infrastructure.
1988. The Crédit Européen Belgium became the Bank Card Company (BCC). BCC managed payments by credit card for almost all the Belgian banks.
1992. Shareholding banks decided to integrate their Eurocard activities in BCC. In the meantime, MasterCard entered the European market by joining the Eurocard network.
1994-1997. The microchip card appealed to the financial sector because of its security potential. In Belgium, the chip gave birth to the electronic purse (Proton).
1998-2000. The Internet re-invented remote payment but electronic commerce was slow to appeal to the Belgians.
2001-2002. The euro became a reality on 1st January 2002. Under the aegis of the National Bank, the financial institutions and Banksys pursued a detailed scenario. The adaptation of the terminals, the cards and the infrastructure as a whole was made in advance of the rest of the European Union.
2003. BCC was the first company in Europe to introduce the microchip credit card, which made payments even safer.
2006. The Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA) will unify payments in Europe around the end of 2010. Invited to play an active role in SEPA, Banksys needed a partner to provide European coverage. In December 2006, Banksys and Bank Card Company were taken over by Atos Origin, one of the leading international IT services companies via its subsidiary, Atos Worldline.
On 16th December 2006, for the first time in the history of the country, Banksys registered more than a billion transactions, all payments and withdrawals by card.
2007. On 1st June 2007, Banksys and BCC merged and adopted the name of Atos Worldline as a symbol of its new ambitions.
Would you like to know more about the history of electronic payments? Consult the book dedicated to the subject: 'About cards and terminals: 25 years of electronic payments in Belgium '. It's a fascinating topic.
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