Cash-related activities will no longer be carried out at the National Bank’s headquarters in the centre of Brussels but at a purpose-built complex in Zellik, on the outskirts of the capital. The new premises meet state-of-the-art security standards and allow cashMoney in physical form such as banknotes and coins. More logisticsThe term originates from military language and refers to the movement and provisioning of troops at war. In today’s business vocabulary, it refers to the management in particular, the transportation, storage and distribution of finished goods. More activities to be streamlined and largely automated.
The construction of a new cash centreProcessing centre for large volumes of cash, often in facilities that have special security and logistic characteristics. Cash centres can be operated by a central bank or a commercial entity (usually bank or a cash-in-transit company). More was necessary given that the current facilities at the Bank’s headquarters in Brussels, which dateThe year in which a medal or coin was minted. On a banknote, the date is usually the year in which the issuance of that banknote - not its printing or entering into circulation - was formally authorised. More back to the 1960s, were outdated and difficult to modernise. Consequently, cash processing was still very labour-intensive. At the new premises in Zellik, staffing needs have been reduced by a third, for example.
Moving cash activities from the busy city centre to the outskirts of the capital near the motorway will also facilitate the transport of cash. The foundation stone for the new cash centre was laid in May 2022. Three years later, the building is now ready for use. Substantial efforts were made to ensure that the construction is sustainable and environmentally friendly. Thanks to solar panels, a geothermal heating and cooling system and a green zone, the centre is practically carbon neutral.
A central bank’s cash centre handles the logistics for the circulation of cash within the country. Here, banknotes and coins are put into or withdrawn from circulation, and cash is sorted, checked, stored or destroyed. It is the central place from which cash transporters pick up cash for delivery to financial institutions and ATMs. Over the course of its lifetime, a banknoteA banknote (or ‘bill’ as it is often referred to in the US) is a type of negotiable promissory note, issued by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. More not only changes hands frequently but also returns regularly to the central bank’s cash centre for quality checks and testing. Around 600 million banknotes pass through the National Bank each year. In addition, the Bank’s cash centre sorts and distributes euroThe name of the European single currency adopted by the European Council at the meeting held in Madrid on 15-16 December 1995. See ECU. More coins on behalf of the Belgian Treasury.
In 2025, the NBB issued respectively 1.2 billion banknotes (from a euro-area total of 30.2 billion) and 4.2 billion coins (from a euro-area total of 151.7 billion). On an annual basis, around 600 million banknotes, valued at around € 24 billion, are processed by the machines in the NBB cash centre, which check their authenticityThe condition that a security element of a banknote or security document is genuine. More and quality. On average, a banknote in circulation in Belgium returns to the NBB just under once a year. Around 11% of these notes are destroyed as they are deemed unfit for circulation. Destroyed bills are replaced by new notes