WhatsApp Business API in Belgium: three languages, one consent rule
Belgium's data protection authority rewrote its direct-marketing guidance in 2026 and says the channel does not decide whether a message is marketing. Step through how the rules got here.
- WhatsApp weekly use
- 73%, just ahead of Facebook's 71% (Reuters Institute, 2026)[1]
- Marketing rule
- Code of Economic Law, Article XII.13[2]
- Official languages
- Dutch, French and German; four linguistic regions[5]
- Population
- About 11.9 million (2025)[7]
- Clock
- CET (UTC+1); CEST (UTC+2) from late March to late October[16]
- Meta market
- Rest of Western Europe (regional rate)
For Indian businesses with Belgian customers, and Belgian firms comparing options: how Article XII.13 and the APD's 2026 recommendation apply to WhatsApp marketing, how to template in Dutch, French and German, what a Belgian message costs on InfiQ and how to begin.
See it work
How Belgium's direct-marketing rules reached 2026
Belgian rules on marketing messages come in layers: a 2003 decree, the GDPR, a 2018 law and the APD's recommendations. Scrub through to see which document now speaks for the regulator.
The step that matters for WhatsApp is the last one. Recommendation 01/2026 is now the APD's only applicable recommendation on direct marketing, and it says the channel used is not relevant to whether a message is direct marketing. It lists ads in electronic messaging services and chat-boxes among electronic communications.
That supports treating a WhatsApp promotion as direct marketing. Whether WhatsApp counts as 'courrier électronique' under Article XII.13 is still an interpretation, because neither the Code nor the APD names WhatsApp. InfiQ's consent records keep the evidence either way.
Belgian direct-marketing rules, 2003 to 2026
2026NowEvent 6 of 6
Recommendation 01/2026 replaces it
From publication, the APD's only applicable recommendation on direct marketing. The channel is irrelevant to whether a message is direct marketing; ads in electronic messaging services and chat-boxes are listed among electronic communications.
Event 6 of 6: 2026 — Recommendation 01/2026 replaces it (now). From publication, the APD's only applicable recommendation on direct marketing. The channel is irrelevant to whether a message is direct marketing; ads in electronic messaging services and chat-boxes are listed among electronic communications.
Compliance
Article XII.13 and its two exceptions
The consent rule sits in the Code of Economic Law; the Royal Decree of 4 April 2003 carves out two exceptions; the APD and the FPS Economy share enforcement.
Article XII.13 §1 of the Code of Economic Law bans advertising by electronic mail without the recipient's prior, free, specific and informed consent.[2]
Point 1
Existing customers, for similar products
Consent is not required for existing customers, people or companies, whose electronic contact details you obtained directly in a sale, subject to further conditions including their right to object (Royal Decree of 4 April 2003, art. 1(1)).[2]
Point 2
Impersonal addresses of legal persons
Consent is also not required when the recipient is a legal person and the address used is impersonal (art. 1(2)). Think twice before treating a WhatsApp number as impersonal: the APD warns that even a functional email address can be personal data.[2]
Point 3
The channel does not matter
Recommendation 01/2026 says the channel is irrelevant to whether a message is direct marketing, and lists ads in electronic messaging services and chat-boxes among electronic communications. It does not name WhatsApp.[2]
Point 4
One recommendation, not two
The APD says Recommendation 01/2026 is, from publication, its only applicable recommendation on direct marketing; 01/2020 survives only as an archive. Check older vendor checklists that still cite 01/2020.[2],[3]
Point 5
'Ne m'appelez plus' covers calls
Telemarketing callers must screen against the 'Ne m'appelez plus / Bel-me-niet meer' list (Code of Economic Law, Articles VI.112 to VI.115). The APD concludes SMS are not covered by it, so it is not a WhatsApp do-not-message list.[2],[4]
Point 6
WhatsApp's own opt-in
Meta's WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy requires that the person shared their number or username and gave opt-in permission to receive your messages.[17]
- A summary of public guidance from the sources cited, not legal advice.
Language
One delivery update in Belgium's languages
Meta has Belgian codes for Dutch and French, plus German for the German-speaking east. Switch between them to see the same utility message.
Belgium's Constitution divides the country into four linguistic regions and leaves the private use of languages free, so the choice is commercial rather than legal. For a nationwide campaign, keep Dutch and French versions of every template and let each contact's language decide which one goes out; never treat Brussels as French-only.
Each language version of a template goes through Meta's approval separately. Replies inside the 24-hour service window can be in whichever language the customer writes and your agents can answer.
Template language
Dutch (Belgium) template (nl_BE). Example text written for this page; your own templates go through Meta’s review.
A small, open, multilingual market
Belgium in figures from the World Bank, the ECB, Flanders Investment & Trade, Bancontact and the Reuters Institute.
Belgium's GDP was about US$725 billion in 2025 at current prices, for a population of about 11.9 million.[6],[7]
Services accounted for 71.2% of GDP in 2025 and manufacturing for 11.2%.[8]
Flanders Investment & Trade says around 60% of Europe's purchasing power lies within 500 km of Flanders.[9]
WhatsApp only just leads: 73% of online respondents had used it in the last week in the Reuters Institute's 2026 survey, against 71% for Facebook and 47% for Facebook Messenger.[1]
Bancontact, Belgium's domestic payment brand since 1979, says it handles over 2.5 billion transactions a year; its merchant product accepts both Bancontact and Wero.[14]
Cards were used for 53.0% of point-of-sale transactions and cash for 39.3% in the ECB's 2024 study; online, cards made up 51.0% of payments by number.[15]
Industries
Ports, molecules and diamonds
Belgium's export industries cluster around Antwerp, Brussels and Leuven. Rankings below are the claims of the bodies that make them.
- 01
Chemicals and petrochemicals
Flanders Investment & Trade describes the Port of Antwerp-Bruges cluster as Europe's largest integrated petrochemical cluster; essenscia's 2021 figures put the Belgian chemical industry at €73.8 billion turnover and 65,159 direct jobs.[10]
On WhatsApp: B2B order status · Delivery scheduling · Quality-document sharing with distributors
- 02
Pharmaceuticals and vaccines
essenscia calls Belgium the world's leading exporter of vaccines, with about €22 billion of vaccine exports in 2023.[12]
On WhatsApp: Distributor order updates · Delivery scheduling · Trial-participant reminders
- 03
Logistics and air cargo
DHL's 36,500 m² hub at Brussels Airport processes up to 42,000 shipments an hour; Antwerp and North Sea Port Ghent anchor distribution operations (FIT).[9]
On WhatsApp: Shipment tracking alerts · Delivery slot confirmations · Customs document requests
- 04
Diamonds
The Antwerp World Diamond Centre reports US$19.1 billion of annual imports and exports, about 1,300 diamond companies, 3,300 jobs and 4 diamond bourses; it does not state the year.[13]
On WhatsApp: Client appointment booking · Viewing confirmations · Shipment notices
- 05
Semiconductors and micro-electronics
Imec has opened a pilot line in Leuven advancing sub-2nm chip technology (FIT).[11]
On WhatsApp: Supplier coordination · Visitor and event logistics · Service tickets
Drag or swipe to rotate. Use the arrow keys to rotate, plus and minus to zoom, and 0 to reset.
Atlas
Brussels, Antwerp, Leuven on the atlas
Belgium keeps one clock, yet its customers write in three languages.
Drag the globe from New Delhi to the Low Countries. Belgium runs on Central European Time, with summer time from late March to late October, so a Brussels morning falls around the Indian midday.
The atlas hides the part that matters most for messaging: Flanders and Wallonia each have their own language, the German-speaking Community sits in the east, and Brussels is a bilingual capital region. One number can serve all of them if your templates do.
Prices in ₹ and EUR
What a Belgian message costs
Belgium is priced in Meta's Rest of Western Europe group rather than on a line of its own. On InfiQ: ₹5.21 per marketing message, ₹1.50 per utility message, ₹1.50 for authentication and ₹1.50 per service reply, before GST.
Snapshot rates · as of 20 Oct 2026, 00:02 UTC
Lite
₹999 / month≈ €9.38 EUR
₹833 / month, billed yearly≈ €7.83 EUR
Growth
₹2,999 / month≈ €28.17 EUR
₹2,499 / month, billed yearly≈ €23.48 EUR
Enterprise
Custom volume pricing, custom SLA and dedicated infrastructure.
Per message to Belgium · Rest of Western Europe (regional rate)
| Category | ₹ INR | EUR |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | ₹5.2054 | €0.0489 |
| Utility | ₹1.5019 | €0.0141 |
| Authentication | ₹1.5019 | €0.0141 |
| Service | ₹1.5019 | €0.0141 |
Per-message rates for all 47 markets, in ₹ and EUR
| Market | Marketing | Utility | Authentication | Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | €0.0511₹5.4352 | €0.0215₹2.2874 | €0.0215₹2.2874 | €0.0215₹2.2874 |
| Bangladesh | €0.0605₹6.4397 | €0.0031₹0.3254 | €0.0031₹0.3254 | €0.0031₹0.3254 |
| Brazil | €0.0516₹5.4970 | €0.0056₹0.5981 | €0.0056₹0.5981 | €0.0056₹0.5981 |
| Chile | €0.0734₹7.8162 | €0.0165₹1.7585 | €0.0165₹1.7585 | €0.0165₹1.7585 |
| Colombia | €0.0103₹1.0993 | €0.0007₹0.0706 | €0.0007₹0.0706 | €0.0007₹0.0706 |
| Egypt | €0.0532₹5.6629 | €0.0030₹0.3167 | €0.0030₹0.3167 | €0.0030₹0.3167 |
| France | €0.0710₹7.5588 | €0.0248₹2.6393 | €0.0248₹2.6393 | €0.0248₹2.6393 |
| Germany | €0.113₹12.0088 | €0.0455₹4.8386 | €0.0455₹4.8386 | €0.0455₹4.8386 |
| Hong Kong | €0.0605₹6.4397 | €0.0215₹2.2867 | €0.0215₹2.2867 | €0.0215₹2.2867 |
| Hungary | €0.0710₹7.5596 | €0.0288₹3.0700 | €0.0288₹3.0700 | €0.0288₹3.0700 |
| India | €0.0089₹0.9435 | €0.0018₹0.1941 | €0.0013₹0.1402 | €0.0014₹0.1450 |
| Indonesia | €0.0339₹3.6133 | €0.0206₹2.1979 | €0.0206₹2.1979 | €0.0206₹2.1979 |
| Iraq | €0.0282₹2.9992 | €0.0065₹0.6943 | €0.0065₹0.6943 | €0.0065₹0.6943 |
| Israel | €0.0292₹3.1045 | €0.0044₹0.4662 | €0.0044₹0.4662 | €0.0044₹0.4662 |
| Italy | €0.0656₹6.9847 | €0.0248₹2.6369 | €0.0248₹2.6369 | €0.0248₹2.6369 |
| Kazakhstan | €0.0499₹5.3098 | €0.0149₹1.5824 | €0.0149₹1.5824 | €0.0149₹1.5824 |
| Kuwait | €0.0654₹6.9671 | €0.0363₹3.8671 | €0.0363₹3.8671 | €0.0363₹3.8671 |
| Malaysia | €0.0711₹7.5644 | €0.0116₹1.2314 | €0.0116₹1.2314 | €0.0116₹1.2314 |
| Mexico | €0.0328₹3.4877 | €0.0070₹0.7471 | €0.0070₹0.7471 | €0.0070₹0.7471 |
| Morocco | €0.0342₹3.6425 | €0.0190₹2.0218 | €0.0190₹2.0218 | €0.0190₹2.0218 |
| Netherlands | €0.132₹14.0494 | €0.0413₹4.3987 | €0.0413₹4.3987 | €0.0413₹4.3987 |
| Nepal | €0.0605₹6.4397 | €0.0028₹0.2990 | €0.0028₹0.2990 | €0.0028₹0.2990 |
| Nigeria | €0.0427₹4.5421 | €0.0055₹0.5898 | €0.0055₹0.5898 | €0.0055₹0.5898 |
| Oman | €0.0282₹2.9992 | €0.0204₹2.1709 | €0.0204₹2.1709 | €0.0204₹2.1709 |
| Pakistan | €0.0391₹4.1620 | €0.0124₹1.3200 | €0.0124₹1.3200 | €0.0124₹1.3200 |
| Peru | €0.0581₹6.1843 | €0.0248₹2.6392 | €0.0248₹2.6392 | €0.0248₹2.6392 |
| Poland | €0.0302₹3.2105 | €0.0101₹1.0702 | €0.0101₹1.0702 | €0.0101₹1.0702 |
| Qatar | €0.0282₹2.9992 | €0.0099₹1.0547 | €0.0099₹1.0547 | €0.0099₹1.0547 |
| Romania | €0.0710₹7.5596 | €0.0239₹2.5436 | €0.0239₹2.5436 | €0.0239₹2.5436 |
| Russia | €0.0662₹7.0520 | €0.0330₹3.5173 | €0.0330₹3.5173 | €0.0330₹3.5173 |
| Saudi Arabia | €0.0475₹5.0537 | €0.0088₹0.9401 | €0.0088₹0.9401 | €0.0088₹0.9401 |
| Singapore | €0.0605₹6.4397 | €0.0132₹1.4072 | €0.0132₹1.4072 | €0.0132₹1.4072 |
| South Africa | €0.0314₹3.3385 | €0.0079₹0.8369 | €0.0079₹0.8369 | €0.0079₹0.8369 |
| Spain | €0.0584₹6.2161 | €0.0165₹1.7578 | €0.0165₹1.7578 | €0.0165₹1.7578 |
| Sri Lanka | €0.0605₹6.4397 | €0.0017₹0.1759 | €0.0017₹0.1759 | €0.0017₹0.1759 |
| Turkey | €0.0090₹0.9587 | €0.0007₹0.0792 | €0.0007₹0.0792 | €0.0007₹0.0792 |
| Ukraine | €0.0710₹7.5596 | €0.0246₹2.6138 | €0.0246₹2.6138 | €0.0246₹2.6138 |
| United Arab Emirates | €0.0475₹5.0537 | €0.0130₹1.3811 | €0.0130₹1.3811 | €0.0130₹1.3811 |
| United Kingdom | €0.0524₹5.5795 | €0.0182₹1.9346 | €0.0182₹1.9346 | €0.0182₹1.9346 |
| North America | €0.0206₹2.1976 | €0.0028₹0.2989 | €0.0028₹0.2989 | €0.0028₹0.2989 |
| Rest of Africa | €0.0186₹1.9796 | €0.0033₹0.3516 | €0.0033₹0.3516 | €0.0033₹0.3516 |
| Rest of Asia Pacific | €0.0696₹7.4057 | €0.0093₹0.9938 | €0.0093₹0.9938 | €0.0093₹0.9938 |
| Rest of Central & Eastern Europe | €0.0710₹7.5596 | €0.0175₹1.8595 | €0.0175₹1.8595 | €0.0175₹1.8595 |
| Rest of Latin America | €0.0611₹6.5048 | €0.0093₹0.9934 | €0.0093₹0.9934 | €0.0093₹0.9934 |
| Rest of Middle East | €0.0324₹3.4490 | €0.0075₹0.7998 | €0.0075₹0.7998 | €0.0075₹0.7998 |
| Rest of Western Europe | €0.0489₹5.2054 | €0.0141₹1.5019 | €0.0141₹1.5019 | €0.0141₹1.5019 |
| Other | €0.0499₹5.3098 | €0.0064₹0.6769 | €0.0064₹0.6769 | €0.0064₹0.6769 |
Plan prices are monthly, in rupees, excluding GST; yearly billing is two months free. Messages are charged per delivered message on top of the plan, at the rate for the recipient’s country. Full details: InfiQ pricing. Every language version of a message costs the same, because the rate follows the recipient's country code, not the template language. Euro amounts are indicative; InfiQ invoices in rupees.
Rates for every Meta market, plus plans and add-ons, are on one page.
See all plans and ratesTwo ways in
Two ways to begin
InfiQ serves India-based businesses. Indian senders start with consent in the customer's language; a business based in Belgium starts with sales.
Your business is in India
- 1.
Ask for consent in the customer's language
A Dutch or French opt-in at checkout or in the chat, naming WhatsApp and saying how to stop.
- 2.
Verify and go live
InfiQ guides Meta business verification; once it is complete, a number is typically live in about two hours. A 7-day Lite trial needs no card.
- 3.
Submit nl_BE and fr_BE templates
Start with order and delivery updates; add German if you serve customers in the East Cantons.
- 4.
Send each contact their language
Keep each contact's language in your own data so the right version goes out, and send promotions only to contacts with a recorded opt-in.
Your business is in Belgium
- 1.
Talk to sales
InfiQ bills in Indian rupees and supports teams in English and Hindi on India time. Availability for a business based in Belgium goes through sales.
- 2.
Review the data terms
Customer data is processed in India. The data processing agreement and the sub-processor list set out how it is handled.
On InfiQ
What a multilingual programme runs on
The InfiQ pieces that matter most when one number serves three language communities, with the status of each.
- Template manager and library
Draft, submit and track WhatsApp message templates for Meta's approval, starting from a library of 1,000+ ready templates in 27 categories.
Dutch, French and German versions of one template are drafted side by side, and each is tracked through Meta's approval.
- Consent records and opt-out enforcement
Each contact's opt-in source and time are recorded, STOP replies are enforced at platform level (even against later imports), and the audit trail exports.
Article XII.13 and Meta both turn on consent; opt-in source and time are recorded per contact, and STOP is enforced at platform level.
- Shared team inbox
One WhatsApp number answered by a team: 10 users on Lite and 25 on Growth, agent and manager roles, transfers, private notes, labels and canned replies.
Agents who write Dutch, French or German share one number and can transfer a chat to a colleague who reads the customer's language.
- Broadcast campaigns
Send approved template campaigns to up to 2,00,000 contacts per broadcast, with segments, scheduling and delivery analytics.
Segments let a nationwide promotion go out in two languages without anyone receiving both.
- Integrations over the API
Shopify, WooCommerce, Razorpay, Zoho CRM, HubSpot, Google Sheets and others connect through InfiQ's API and webhooks today; native one-click connectors are still in development.
Webshops on Shopify or WooCommerce connect through the API and webhooks today; native connectors are still in development.
- Customer data hosted in India
InfiQ processes customer data in data centres located in India; website telemetry vendors are listed separately in the subprocessor list.
Customer data is processed in India, which frames the GDPR transfer questions a Belgian client will raise.
City guides in Belgium
Questions businesses ask about WhatsApp in Belgium
Question: Does Article XII.13 of the Code of Economic Law reach WhatsApp advertising?
Answer: Probably, though the text does not say so. Article XII.13 bans advertising by electronic mail without prior, free, specific and informed consent, and the APD's Recommendation 01/2026 says the channel is irrelevant to whether a message is direct marketing. Neither names WhatsApp, so the application is an interpretation; plan for consent.
Question: Which Belgian customers fall under the Royal Decree's existing-customer exception?
Answer: People and companies whose electronic contact details you obtained directly in a sale, for your own similar products, with their right to object respected. On WhatsApp, Meta's policy still requires the customer's opt-in to your messages, so in practice you ask for consent anyway.
Question: Can we treat a company's WhatsApp number as an impersonal address and skip consent?
Answer: Be careful. The Royal Decree exempts impersonal addresses of legal persons, but the APD warns that even a functional email address can be personal data, and a WhatsApp number tied to an employee's phone is hard to call impersonal. WhatsApp's opt-in rule applies to business recipients regardless.
Question: Should Belgian templates go out in Dutch, French or both?
Answer: Both, for a nationwide audience, plus German if you serve the East Cantons. Meta accepts nl_BE, fr_BE and German templates, each approved separately. Choose the version from the language each contact uses, and never assume Brussels is French-only.
Question: Does the 'Ne m'appelez plus' list apply to WhatsApp messages?
Answer: No. The list, run by the non-profit Do Not Call Me since 2015, covers telemarketing calls, and the APD concludes that SMS are not covered by it. WhatsApp promotions fall under the consent rule of Article XII.13 instead, which asks more of you than a register check.
Question: Can we send a Bancontact or Wero payment link in a WhatsApp chat?
Answer: As a link, yes. InfiQ does not offer in-chat payments, but a payment link from your payment provider can go in a template button or a reply. Bancontact says its merchant product accepts both Bancontact and Wero.
Question: How is Belgium priced on Meta's rate card?
Answer: Belgium sits in Meta's Rest of Western Europe group. On InfiQ that means ₹5.21 per marketing message, ₹1.50 per utility message, ₹1.50 per authentication message and ₹1.50 per service reply, before GST; service replies have been charged per message since 1 October 2026.
Question: Can a company in Brussels or Antwerp use InfiQ for its own customers?
Answer: Through sales. InfiQ serves India-based businesses: it bills in rupees, processes customer data in India and supports teams in English and Hindi on India time. Availability for a business based in Belgium goes through sales, who can take you through the data terms.
Sources
Facts on this page were checked against these sources on the dates shown. InfiQ's rates come from its published rate card. Page updated 2026-10-20.
- [1]Digital News Report 2026, Belgium page · Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism · read 2026-10-20
- [2]Recommandation 01/2026 relative aux traitements de données à caractère personnel dans le cadre du marketing direct · Autorité de protection des données (APD) · read 2026-10-20
- [3]Marketing direct (theme page) · Autorité de protection des données (APD) · read 2026-10-20
- [4]Ne m'appelez plus · Do Not Call Me ASBL · read 2026-10-20
- [5]Constitution belge, Articles 4 and 30 · Belgian Senate · read 2026-10-20
- [6]World Development Indicators: GDP (current US$), 2025 · World Bank · read 2026-10-20
- [7]World Development Indicators: Population, total (2025) · World Bank · read 2026-10-20
- [8]World Development Indicators: services and manufacturing, value added (% of GDP) · World Bank · read 2026-10-20
- [9]Logistics & distribution · Flanders Investment & Trade · read 2026-10-20
- [10]Chemicals · Flanders Investment & Trade · read 2026-10-20
- [11]Invest in Flanders · Flanders Investment & Trade · read 2026-10-20
- [12]essenscia · essenscia (Belgian federation for chemistry and life sciences) · read 2026-10-20
- [13]AWDC · Antwerp World Diamond Centre · read 2026-10-20
- [14]About us · Bancontact · read 2026-10-20
- [15]Study on the payment attitudes of consumers in the euro area (SPACE) 2024, country-specific data · European Central Bank · read 2026-10-20
- [16]Summertime (Directive 2000/84/EC) · European Commission · read 2026-10-20
- [17]WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy (updated 23 September 2026) · WhatsApp (Meta) · read 2026-10-20
Reach Belgian customers in their own language
Start a 7-day Lite trial, no card needed, and submit Dutch and French templates once Meta verification is complete. Based in Belgium? Talk to sales about availability.
