The government paid Bpost almost six times too much for account management

BNP Paribas Fortis will be the new manager of the so-called ‘679 accounts’, into which the government deposits VAT and fines. The new contract will cost the government 6.9 million euros per year, while the previous one – with Bpost – cost 38 million euros per year.

This is reported by Het Nieuwsblad and confirmed by the Ministry of Finance. The new contract represents significant savings for the federal government: the old Bpost contract was almost six times as expensive as the new one with BNP Paribas Fortis.

Bpost has been the cashier of the federal government since 1970. The postal company managed the special accounts – which start with the numbers 679 – for decades, but will lose that assignment from the beginning of 2026. 679 accounts serve for the payment of (traffic) fines and VAT owed to the government.

Minister of Finance Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V) has appointed BNP Paribas Fortis as the new manager, writes Het Nieuwsblad. The switch took place after a public tender to which three parties subscribed: in addition to Bpost and BNP Paribas Fortis, Belfius also. The new contract is almost 80 percent cheaper than the previous one at Bpost and provides the government with enormous savings of more than 30 million euros per year.

Last year, Bpost started an internal investigation into possible malpractice in assignments it carried out for the government. In addition to managing the 679 accounts, Bpost is also alleged to have collected unlawful margins on services such as the collection of traffic fines and the production of license plates.

Bpost made exorbitant profits on the management of the 679 accounts alone, as became apparent last year. Of the 38 million euros that Bpost charged the federal government annually for its management, approximately 30 million euros was made in profit: a profit margin of almost 80 percent.

After the internal investigation, the postal company set aside 75 million euros in provisions for this. The FPS Finance is now making its own analysis based on the same internal research, says Minister Van Peteghem’s spokeswoman.

MP Michael Freilich, who is closely following the file, responded on Saturday that Bpost misled the state about the overbilled amount. ‘For the management of the bank accounts alone, this amounts to more than 30 million too many ‘per year’. If you add the other government contracts, we exceed half a billion euros. Bpost must pay back every cent of this to the Belgian state, because it concerns taxpayers’ money. He accuses Bpost chairman Audrey Hanard of ‘passing on incorrect figures to parliament’.