‘Paying Attention’, a podcast series that explores how new forms of payment are changing our society

publish date
20 March 2023

Contactless, online or mobile: it’s hard to imagine our everyday lives without these new forms of payments. Over the four episodes of our podcast series ‘Paying Attention’ / ‘Un conseil, ça paie’, you’ll get to hear from various angles about how the new payment methods are changing our society.

We only accept cash”: now that’s a sign you don’t usually see on a cash register in Belgium anymore. Since the 1st ofJuly 2022, all merchants in Belgium are required to offer their customers at least one form of electronic payment. In the first episode of ‘Paying Attention’, the hosts of the podcast Fatma Taspinar (Dutch episode) and Nathan Soret (French episode), interview the person who inspired this law: Minister of Finance, Vincent Van Peteghem. Listen to the first episode of ‘Paying Attention’, right here. 

In episode two, we take a look behind the scenes of the Paradise City festival and Ronquières. The festivals focus on cashless payments. Organisers Gilles De Decker and Gino Innocente explain why. They also doesn’t shy away from the big question: do people spend more when they pay cashless? And in this episode, good causes Red Cross Flanders and Goodplanet talk about their switch to mobile payments. Because volunteers collecting donations in the street still often hear the excuse of ‘I don’t have any cash with me’. But is this now something of the past? Hear all about it in episode two.

In episode three, digital specialists, Dado Van Peteghem and Cédric Cauderlier provide four examples of ‘frictionless payments’. At parking company Q-Park, the barrier opens automatically using number plate recognition when you add your Bancontact card to their app, while at STIB/MIVB, the metro gates open with just one tap of your bank card on the validator. And both food delivery companies, Uber Eats and HelloFresh, swear by an easily accessible payment system. Paying without even noticing it: learn everything there is to know in episode three of ‘Paying Attention’.

Is it a good thing to have more than one option for mobile payments – or are we making it all too complex? In episode four of ‘Paying Attention’, trade organisations, Comeos and Unizo, discuss the pros and cons of mobile payments with Bancontact Payconiq Company. Payment service companies, POM and Digiteal, experts in invoicing,join the discussion with their testimonies. Join in with this enthralling payment debate in episode four!

Listen to the full podcast series here.