Most asked questions about online verification

    Proximus wants to verify your identity for multiple reasons:

    • To be able to offer you the services you requested. Proximus must indeed be able to correctly identify its customers to start a contractual relationship, to provision the customer with the services, eventually to physically install the service, to bill the customers and to contact the customers for all customer administration purposes.
    • To fight fraud, phishing and identity theft (someone pretending to be you and buying a product in your name). Proximus wants to prevent that false identities are being used to order services that will never be paid, but Proximus also wants to protect you from abuse of your identity and becoming a victim if somebody with bad intentions tries to order products or services in your name. That’s why the identification is such a thorough process.
    • To comply, like all providers of electronic communications services, to the legal obligation to identify the customers for the judicial and other competent authorities. Proximus, like all other providers of electronic communications services, has the legal obligation to identify its customers. This is written in the Electronic Communications Act of June 13th, 2005 and in the Royal decrees of September 19th, 2013 and November 27th, 2016. Proximus has the legal obligation to register your National Registry Number in a separate database that is to be kept for the competent authorities. Proximus itself is not allowed to use your National Registry Number.
    • To have a good quality database to keep you informed of the Proximus products and services by means of several communication channels like email, SMS, telephone, postal letter, online and TV advertising. Proximus will try to adapt its communications as much as possible to your personal needs based for example on your age, your gender and your living place. The number of your identity document will help us to uniquely identify you in the customer database and avoid the creation of double accounts for one and the same customer. Of course, you have the right to refuse the use of your data by Proximus for sending you commercial information. See a specific section in this FAQ on how to opt-out from such messages.

    Whenever requested in the webshop, shop or via the call center, you can verify your identity in 3 ways:

    • Using itsme app to validate your identity and share your personal information (you need an itsme account). Behind the screens, itsme will provide Proximus in a safe way with the minimal set of data that is needed to identify you.
    • Sharing the data from your eID card via a card reader (you need an eID card reader and a laptop/desktop where you can install a specific software). Proximus will retrieve only the data that is strictly needed to identify you.
    • Taking a photo of your identity document and allowing our technology to read and retrieve the data from your document (you need a device with a camera and your ID document). The data on your identity document will be read automatically and the data that is necessary to identify you will be retrieved.
      If you use an international document (European ID or international passport) you will also be asked to take a selfie to verify that you’re the actual holder of the document and to provide a proof of your residence in Belgium (see “How do you verify the identity via a photo of an international document” for more info).

    We accept the following documents as a proof of identity:

    Belgian documents:

    • The eID card for Belgian nationals
    • The eID card for foreigners (non-EU & EU nationals residing in Belgium and registered in the foreign population register)
    • Belgian passport

    International documents:

    • European ID card
    • International passport

    You can use one of the following documents (documents not mentioned in the below list will be refused) as a proof that you reside in Belgium:

    • Work contract/attest
    • Work Badge (including picture)
    • Student badge
    • Notary act
    • Domiciliation attest
    • Refugees attest

    Make sure that your name is clearly visible in the picture or copy of the document that you send us.

    The image recognition software will be able to extract the text and the relevant information from your identity document. In case of Belgian passport, the platform will also compare the photo on your document with a selfie to verify that the two photos belong to the same person. At the same time a check is being performed to exclude fake, counterfeited or expired documents. If these checks have a positive outcome, you will be able to proceed with your order. The photograph of your identification document will be deleted immediately after the identity verification has taken place.

    You can identify with this method using a European ID card or an international passport. The image recognition software will be able to extract the text and the relevant information from your identity document. The platform will then compare the photo on your document with a selfie to verify that the two photos belong to the same person. At the same time a check is being performed to exclude fake, counterfeited or expired documents. If all these checks have a positive outcome, your identity will be verified and your proof of residence will be sent to our anti-fraud team. The photograph of your identification document will be deleted immediately after the identity verification has taken place. Once the proof of residence is reviewed and approved by our team, you will receive a confirmation that you can proceed with your order.

    The following identification data are being retrieved: your name, first name, birthdate, gender, address, document number and validity period. These data will be used for the finalities explained in the section “Why do I need to verify my identity?” Proximus has the legal obligation to also capture your national number from your eID card for the competent judicial and other authorities. Proximus is not allowed to and will not use your national number for its own purposes.

    Your data will be collected and used by Proximus for the purposes explained in the section “Why do I need to verify my identity?”.

    In some cases, your data can be shared under conditions with third parties. You will find more information on this in the Proximus Privacy notice (See Chapter “Personal data sharing with third parties”).

    Your identification document will no longer be kept than necessary for the validation of it. After the validation process, your identity document is deleted.

    The retrieved identification data can be stored at a maximum up to 10 years after you have ceased to be a Proximus customer. You can read more in the Proximus Privacy notice.

    The different identification methods take only a few steps and your identity is immediately and automatically validated once the steps are completed.

    Whenever your identity cannot be verified automatically (this can happen only in few cases when the picture does not have enough quality or the document does not pass the authenticity checks), we will need to proceed with manual verification. This process can take from 10 minutes up to one day. Don’t want to wait? You will be able to send the shopping cart with the selected products to your email and Proximus will notify you once the verification is completed and you will be redirected to complete only the last steps of your purchase.

    The validity of your identity document is in a first phase being checked in an automated way by means of a quality tool designed for such validations.

    If after a first automatic check the tool cannot conclude if your identity document is valid or not, your document will be submitted to a manual verification by a team of highly specified and qualified persons. The outcome of the manual validation can be that your document is valid or it can be that it is not valid. In the last case, you will be informed and you will need to use another identification method.

    If after the first automatic check the tool already concludes that your document is not valid, you will be informed of this. You will be given the possibility to retry with another identity document or another method and you will be given the possibility to ask for a manual check by a human.

    Whether you are purchasing a product on the webshop, in a physical shop or via a call center, you can always identify with a valid international identity document (European ID or international passport). If your document was not issued by Belgian authorities, you will also need a proof that you are a resident in Belgium (e.g. a work contractor badge or the proof of enrolment in a Belgian university or educational institution).

    More details can be found within the chapter on proof of residence where all possible documents are listed that can be used to prove you reside in Belgium.

    In case your eID expired or it has been lost or stolen, you can come to the shop with an Annex12 (an official document attesting that your eID is expired, stolen or lost and that you’re waiting for its renewal) or you can identify with your Belgian passport. The Annex 12 is provided by the commune upon requesting your new Eid and is replacing your Eid for the time it takes to receive your new eID.

    You will not be able to complete the purchase and you will be requested to retry with the same method or identify with another method.

    If you want to buy a mobile subscription or joint offer for someone else via the webshop, make sure you have their eID card at hand.

    More details can be found within the chapter ‘What if I want to delegate someone else to buy a product in one of the Proximus stores?’

    If you want to delegate someone to buy a product for you in one of our Proximus stores, please make sure that the person you delegate brings the following documents to the store:

    • Your identity document (if you never bought a product at Proximus before, we don’t accept copies and we accept only documents issued by Belgian authorities, e.g. any eID card or Belgian passport).
    • This letter of authorisation(PDF, 178KB, in English) filled in and signed by both of you.

    • You’re the rightful - and only - holder of the document and personal data you share.
    • Every piece of information you provide to us is 100% accurate.

    • You want to identify by taking pictures of your document but don’t have a camera on your laptop? No worries, you can take pictures with your mobile phone using the SMS link or the QR code provided in the screen.
    • If you’re trying to submit a photo using a mobile device your browser may need permission to access your camera. You may also need to refresh the page after granting the camera permission.
    • Provide high-quality files. Take photos in a well-lit room, and fit information within the provided lines. Make sure that the image isn’t blurry or dark.
    • Submit photos of an original (not photocopied) and undamaged ID. If the ID has two sides, make sure that you submit each side (one of the front and one of the back).

    You have the right to access, correct, transfer and have your data deleted. You have the right to object to the use of your data for marketing purposes. All your data subject rights and how you can exercise them is described in the Proximus Privacy notice (see Chapter: “What are my privacy rights and how can I exercise them?”).

    • The best way to opt-out from the Proximus news on products, services and promotions, is to do this via your MyProximus account. This will allow you to differentiate your choice per communication channel. For example, if you don’t want to receive SMS messages from Proximus but you want to be kept informed via email only, you can indicate this in your MyProximus account. On our website www-uat.proximus.be, go to MyProximus and sign in with your password. Once you are signed in on MyProximus, go to the "My account" section and then to "My privacy", where you can set/modify your privacy preferences. In the same section, under "My notifications", you can also indicate through which communication channels we may or may not contact you. If you don't have access to MyProximus yet, follow the instructions provided there to create a MyProximus account. If you don't have Internet access, you can inform customer services of your preference at 0800 55 800.
    • In the Proximus Privacy notice (See chapter “What are my privacy rights and how can I exercise them?”) you will find all information on your data subject rights and how to exercise them with Proximus.

    Yes, Proximus has a Data Protection Officer. The Data Protection Officer can be contacted via:

    Documentation
    Rights as a data subject
    Safety of online verification
    Sign out
    Trouble with verifying identity
    Verify my identity