There are three ways to convert a Belfius bank statement to Excel: export CSV directly from Belfius Direct Net, convert a CODA file through your accounting software or a dedicated converter, or extract data from a PDF statement using an AI tool. Each method suits a different workflow, and each carries Belfius-specific quirks that generic guides overlook.
The most accessible option, the native CSV export, has a known weak spot: for recurring transactions such as standing orders and direct debits, the mededeling (communication) column can duplicate the transaction description instead of preserving the actual payment reference. Test recurring payments before relying on the CSV for reconciliation.
Belfius is one of Belgium's largest banks. KPMG's State of the Belgian Banks 2025 groups Belfius with BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC, ING Belgium, Crelan, and Argenta as the country's six largest banks, which together posted about EUR 9 billion in 2024 net profit. That scale makes reliable transaction export workflows a practical concern for Belgian finance teams.
Export CSV from Belfius Direct Net
The fastest way to get Belfius transactions into a spreadsheet is the CSV export built into Belfius Direct Net, the bank's web platform. No extra tools required — just a browser and your login credentials.
Here is the export process:
- Log in to Belfius Direct Net at belfius.be and navigate to your account overview.
- Select the account you want to export and open the transaction history (rekeningoverzicht / historique du compte).
- Set your date range. You can filter by predefined periods or enter custom start and end dates. Belfius typically makes 12–24 months of history available online.
- Click the download or export icon and select CSV as the output format.
- Save the file. It opens directly in Excel or any spreadsheet application.
Use Belfius Direct Net rather than Belfius Mobile for statement exports; the mobile app may not expose the same CSV or CODA download options.
The resulting CSV contains columns for date, counterparty name, account number, transaction amount, balance, transaction type, and communication fields — everything you would expect for reconciliation or import into accounting software.
The Mededeling Column Duplication Bug
Before you build any workflow around this CSV, you need to know about a formatting issue that affects the communication field.
For recurring transactions — standing orders, direct debits, and scheduled transfers — the "mededeling" (communication) column duplicates the content of the "transaction" column instead of containing the actual payment communication or reference number. Rather than showing the OGM-VCS structured communication code or the free-text message attached to the payment, it repeats the transaction type description.
Before relying on the mededeling column for reconciliation, test a sample of recurring payments against the PDF statement or CODA file and confirm that the actual payment reference is present.
The practical impact is significant for accounting workflows. If you import this CSV into Excel, Exact Online, Yuki, or BOB50 and try to match payments using the communication field, every recurring transaction will carry incorrect communication data. Automated payment matching breaks. OGM-VCS code lookups against open invoices fail. Manual reconciliation becomes necessary for exactly the transaction types that should be easiest to match automatically — the predictable, recurring ones.
For one-off transfers, the CSV communication field works correctly. But if your account processes a meaningful volume of domiciliëringen (direct debits) or doorlopende opdrachten (standing orders), this bug turns a routine import into a manual cleanup exercise.
Watch for Bilingual Column Headers
Belfius generates CSV files with column headers matching your platform language setting — Dutch or French. A Dutch-language export uses headers like "Datum", "Bedrag", "Mededeling", and "Rekening tegenpartij". A French-language export uses "Date", "Montant", "Communication", and "Compte contrepartie".
The moment you automate anything — Excel templates, Power Query connections, accounting software import mappings — column name differences will break your workflow if someone on your team exports from a session configured in the other language. If your firm operates across Belgium's language communities — which aligns with Belgium's bilingual document requirements — standardize on one language setting for all Belfius exports, or build your import templates to handle both header sets.
One additional CSV gotcha: Belgian date formats (DD/MM/YYYY) can be silently misinterpreted by Excel depending on your system locale. A date like 05/03/2026 may become March 5th instead of May 3rd. Use Data > From Text/CSV import with explicit date format settings rather than double-clicking the file, especially if your Excel installation uses a non-European locale.
Convert a Belfius CODA File to Excel
If you work in Belgian accounting, you have almost certainly encountered CODA files. CODA (COded DAily) is the standardized electronic bank statement format developed by Febelfin, the Belgian Financial Sector Federation. Every Belgian bank — Belfius included — uses it as the primary machine-readable format for delivering transaction data (the same applies if you need to convert KBC bank statements to Excel, since KBC also delivers CODA v2 files through KBC Reach). Unlike CSV exports or PDF statements, CODA was purpose-built for automated processing by accounting software.
Belfius provides CODA v2 files, the current version of the specification in use since April 2014. CODA is reliable for software ingestion but not practical to paste into Excel directly; the data is all there, but it has to be parsed into columns.
Two practical paths from CODA to Excel
Path 1: Through your accounting software. Most Belgian accountants and bookkeepers already use software that reads CODA natively. Exact Online, Yuki, BOB50, and Octopus all support direct CODA import as a standard feature. The typical workflow is straightforward: download the CODA file from Belfius Direct Net (available from the same export/download interface where you find the CSV option), import it into your accounting application, let it match and book the transactions, then export the relevant data to Excel from within the application when you need a spreadsheet view. This is the path of least resistance if your accounting stack already handles CODA — and for most Belgian practices, it does.
Path 2: Use a dedicated CODA-to-Excel converter. Standalone tools and online converters can parse the fixed-width CODA records and map them into spreadsheet columns — date, amount, counterparty name, counterparty account, communication, and so on. This approach makes sense when you need to analyze transactions outside your accounting system, perform ad hoc reconciliation against other data sources, or when you simply do not use accounting software with CODA import support.
If you need a bank-agnostic walkthrough of that broader workflow, this guide to converting CODA files to Excel explains when to use a parser, accounting software export, or PDF extraction instead.
Convert Belfius CODA to Excel when you need a standalone client deliverable, forensic transaction analysis, or a way to work with a .cod file outside accounting software. CODA also preserves OGM-VCS structured communications more reliably than the CSV export, so it is the better source when payment-reference matching matters.
Extract Data from a Belfius PDF Statement with AI
Belfius provides PDF bank statements in two ways: downloadable from Belfius Direct Net under the "Documents" section, and as periodic statements mailed or made available to account holders. These PDFs contain complete transaction data — dates, amounts, counterparty details, structured communications, running balances — but formatted for human reading, not for import into accounting software. Tables span multiple pages, transaction descriptions wrap across lines, and OGM-VCS codes sit embedded within free-text communication fields.
AI extraction reads the rendered PDF, detects headers and transaction rows, and returns typed spreadsheet columns. Because it works from the statement rather than Belfius's CSV feed, it can preserve the displayed mededeling field and bypass the CSV duplication issue.
OGM-VCS preservation in AI extraction
For Belgian accounting workflows, the 12-digit OGM-VCS structured communication code (+++NNN/NNNN/NNNNN+++ format) is the primary key for matching payments to invoices. AI extraction correctly identifies these codes within Belfius statement communication fields and preserves them in their original format. This matters when reconciling against open invoices in Exact Online, Yuki, or BOB50, where a corrupted or missing structured communication breaks automatic matching. For deeper background on how these codes work, see our guide on the Belgian OGM-VCS structured communication format.
How to extract Belfius PDF statements with Invoice Data Extraction
AI-powered bank statement data extraction handles Belfius PDF statements through a three-step workflow:
1. Upload your Belfius PDF statements. Drag and drop one or multiple PDF files — the platform processes batches of up to 6,000 documents in a single job, so you can upload an entire year of monthly statements at once. Multi-page statements (common for business accounts with high transaction volumes) are processed accurately across all pages.
2. Tell the AI what to extract. Write a prompt specifying the fields you need. For Belfius statements, a prompt like this works well:
"Extract the transaction date, value date, description, counterparty name, amount, structured communication (OGM-VCS), and running balance from each transaction. Preserve OGM-VCS codes in +++NNN/NNNN/NNNNN+++ format."
You can save this as a reusable prompt in your prompt library for recurring Belfius extractions.
3. Download your structured output. The platform returns an Excel (.xlsx), CSV (.csv), or JSON (.json) file with each transaction on its own row. Every row includes a reference to the source file and page number, so you can trace any extracted value back to the original statement for audit purposes.
When AI extraction is the right choice
This method fills gaps the other two approaches cannot. Archived statements from periods no longer available in Belfius Direct Net's export interface — whether stored as downloaded PDFs or scanned paper statements — become usable data again. Statements received from clients or counterparties who bank with Belfius can be processed without needing access to their Belfius Direct Net account. And because the extraction works from the visual document, it handles bilingual Belfius statements (Dutch/French) without configuration — the AI recognizes transaction patterns regardless of the display language.
Preserving OGM-VCS Structured Communications Across Methods
For OGM-VCS matching, the method choice matters most:
| Method | OGM-VCS Integrity | Key Limitation |
|---|---|---|
| CSV export | Unreliable for recurring transactions | Mededeling bug replaces actual OGM-VCS codes with generic descriptions; non-recurring codes may need format verification after Excel import |
| CODA files | Preserved by design | OGM-VCS stored in a dedicated field with its own record type; most dependable source |
| AI PDF extraction | Captured from rendered document | Reads codes exactly as printed; not affected by CSV bug or CODA availability |
For OGM-VCS matching, prefer CODA when your accounting stack supports it; use PDF extraction when CODA is unavailable or you need a flexible spreadsheet.
Extract invoice data to Excel with natural language prompts
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