Zellik (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – In Zellik in Flemish Brabant, the National Bank of Belgium’s high-security cash centre stores and processes all Belgian cash, using robots in a 27-meter vault. It features iris scans, a moat, and extreme security.
As VRT News reported, in Zellik in Flemish Brabant, the National Bank of Belgium‘s cash centre is a key part of the country’s money system. It’s where all the physical money operations are managed. The centre sends out banknotes and coins to commercial banks and ATMs. It also receives money back from circulation. Every banknote in Belgium is checked every year to make sure it’s in good condition and not a fake.
Any damaged or fake notes are taken out of use and destroyed right there. The centre also stores all of Belgium’s cash reserves, as well as a small part of the national gold reserve. Officials mentioned that this facility is very important for keeping Belgium’s money system stable and reliable. It does this by using strict security measures and working very efficiently.
How does Belgium’s 27 m-tall NBB vault keep cash safe?
Inside the National Bank of Belgium’s cash centre is a huge, automated vault that’s like a high-tech fortress. The vault is 27 meters tall, with 7 meters underground, and it stores all the cash in big wooden crates.
No humans are allowed inside. Instead, 2 robots move and store the crates. The vault has its power source, so it keeps working even if the main power goes out. They mentioned that this automation keeps the money safe and ensures the centre always runs smoothly.
The National Bank of Belgium spent over 3 years building its new cash centre. According to officials, the main reason was to modernise how they handle money and make it more secure. The old cash centre was in the basement of the bank’s old building in Brussels, which wasn’t working well anymore. The old facilities weren’t up-to-date for today’s security and logistics. It was difficult to move cash around the busy city centre.
They mentioned that moving the cash centre outside the city was necessary to improve safety, make it easier to get to, and make things run more efficiently. They chose the new location carefully so they could design a building that would meet the very high demands of modern cash handling and protection.
The new cash centre has “extreme” security, according to the National Bank. They use both obvious and hidden security measures that are beyond what’s normally done. The building is protected from things like drones, and everyone who enters must use hand and iris scans for identification. There’s also a large amount of water around the building, like a moat.
The bank won’t say exactly how much money, but they admit the sums are “astronomically high.” This secrecy is part of their overall security plan, making sure everything, from who enters to how information is handled, helps keep Belgium’s money safe.
