Special accounts, the accounts that start with the numbers 679 are called. These are used by the government to deposit collected VAT and fines, and social security also uses them. The government pays bpost 38 million euros annually for its management. This will end in 2026: BNP Paribas will become the new manager after a public tender. And suddenly that contract only costs 6.9 million euros per year, or 82 percent cheaper, reports ‘Het Nieuwsblad’.
It is the first time that the contract has been concluded through a public tender. Bpost has been managing the 679 accounts since 1970, and this has always been done through private contracts. Competitors could not submit bids, and the government also did not inform the European Commission. This is actually necessary, because they can then judge whether there is unauthorized state aid. It had also been suspected for years that bpost charged too much for the contract.
An award was made in 2016, under the Michel government. The file remained dormant until current Minister of Finance Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V) picked it up again in 2021. Three parties signed up for the tender: Bpost, Belfius and BNP Paribas. It is the latter who now wins the contract. Bpost itself seemed to realize that they were asking too much money for the contract: this time they submitted a quote of 25.7 million euros.
