After an earlier refusal, Bancontact Payconiq is still prepared to offer its services to Forza Ninove, the party of Vlaams Belang MP Guy D’haeseleer. The payment company apologizes “for the misunderstanding”.
D’haeseleer wanted to be able to accept payments with the Payconiq app at his party’s food festival. He had to sign a contract with Bancontact Payconiq, but the company refused. Reference was made to the policy not to allow “philosophical, religious or political groups that promote extreme or radical ideologies to conclude a Payconiq contract”.
A day after the news of the refusal became known, Bancontact Payconiq announced that it would reconsider the application. Now the company has decided that Forza Ninove can become a customer after all.
Merchant contract
“Our compliance team had made an initial assessment of the risk,” the company explains. “As a provider of the Payconiq payment solution, we are under the supervision of the National Bank and are obliged to make such an assessment. We have investigated that initial assessment and decided that there is no reason to refuse the customer in question.”
“All democratic political parties can be represented among our traders,” it also sounds. “In short, we will award a merchant contract to Forza Ninove if they so wish.”
D’haeseleer won 40 percent of the votes in Ninove with Forza Ninove in the 2018 municipal elections. Yet he failed to win the mayor’s sash. A controversial post on Facebook caused N-VA to drop out as a possible management partner. “Early to make the chocolate mousse for our Breughel festival,” D’Haeseleer wrote with a photo of black children. The politician himself found the post “fun”.
