Business account for a restaurant in Belgium: neobank or bank?

A restaurateur who still takes cash cannot run the business on a single neobank. Neither Qonto, Revolut Business nor N26 accepts banknote deposits in Belgium. For a hospitality business, the real question isn't "which neobank", but "how do I deposit my till without losing a slice of my margin to fees".

A professional account with cash deposit means an account that lets you pay back in the notes and coins taken over the counter, through an ATM or branch. It's the number-one friction point for a café, a restaurant or a chip shop, and it's exactly where neobanks fall short. Here is how to choose between a Belgian bank and a neobank for a cash-heavy trade, with the figures. If you're an expat opening a place in Brussels or Ghent, the logic below applies the same way.

Can a restaurant use a neobank like Qonto or Revolut Business?

Not as the main account if it takes cash. Qonto, Revolut Business and N26 accept no cash deposits in Belgium. A restaurateur emptying the till each evening has nowhere to pay those notes in with these accounts.

In practice, these providers are built around transfers and cards. Revolut Business states plainly, on its Belgian help pages in 2026, that it does not yet support cash deposits and gives no date. Qonto has shown the same limit since day one: no note or cheque deposits. It isn't an oversight, it's the model, fully digital.

What this means for you: if cash is still a real share of your turnover, a neobank alone is unusable, whatever its strengths on cards or currency. I've watched owners open a Qonto, won over by the app, then sit on 2,000 € of till takings with no way to bank them.

What if I barely take cash anymore?

Then the reasoning flips. A venue where everything runs through the card terminal or mobile payment has no till to deposit. In that specific case, Qonto or Revolut Business become serious candidates, with better multi-user access and expense handling than most Belgian banks.

Does N26 Business accept cash in Belgium?

No. N26's cash deposit relies on a network of partner shops based in Germany, with no Belgian equivalent. For a Belgian restaurateur, that function doesn't exist on the ground.

Which Belgian banks accept a business's cash deposits?

All four big Belgian banks allow it. KBC, BNP Paribas Fortis, Belfius and CBC give access to cash deposits through the CASH network (the Batopin machines) or their own ATMs fitted with a deposit function.

Concretely, you feed your notes into a compatible machine and the amount lands on the professional account. At CBC, a deposit takes up to 120 notes and the money is available immediately. The Batopin network, co-run by these same banks, counted around 970 CASH points at the end of 2025 and keeps expanding, with 150 more points announced by April 2026.

Worth checking: not every CASH point offers deposits yet. The deposit function is rolling out gradually, so a trader should scout the nearest deposit-enabled machine before picking a bank.

How much does a restaurant's cash deposit really cost?

Deposits are only free up to a volume. On Batopin machines, the first 24 operations per year are free. Beyond that, each bank sets its own pricing, often a few dozen cents to over one euro per deposit depending on the professional contract.

Do the maths for a restaurant depositing its takings once a week: 52 deposits a year, more than double the free cap. The 24-operation threshold is reached in under six months. A venue depositing two or three times a week tips into paid territory within the first quarter.

That cap was not designed for heavy cash handlers. In November 2025, the Union des classes moyennes (UCM) had to negotiate an agreement with Batopin so that traders' needs would be better accounted for, a sign the CASH network first targeted retail customers, not hospitality.

Neobank or traditional bank for a hospitality business: the comparison

The table below sums up what separates a Belgian bank from a neobank for a cash trade. The decisive line is the first one.

Verdict: for a restaurant taking cash, only the first three lines qualify as a main account. Neobanks join the race only if your till is already cash-free, or as a second account.

Which setup for a restaurateur in practice?

The pair often beats the single account. The most solid setup for a Belgian hospitality business combines a traditional bank for takings and a neobank for management.

The Belgian bank (KBC, BNP Paribas Fortis, Belfius or CBC) receives the cash deposits, the card terminal settlements, and secures it all with deposit protection up to 100,000 €. The neobank, alongside, runs the team's cards, cross-border supplier payments without an abusive currency markup, and expenses with photographed receipts. You pay two subscriptions, but each does what it does best.

What this means for you: don't chase one perfect all-in-one, it doesn't exist for a cash trade in 2026. My reasoning holds for a venue still handling notes. A fully card-based food truck or a cashless restaurant can live perfectly well on Qonto or Revolut Business alone, and save time on the books.

To pick your deposit bank, our comparison tool lays the fees side by side, and the blog gathers our pro guides. Our analyses are written by Sophie Laurent, who spent eight years in bank branches before comparing Belgian offers.

FAQ

The questions restaurateurs and hospitality managers ask most when opening a professional account.