Belgacom, BNP Paribas Fortis, a local bank, and management consultancy Accenture are to jointly launch a mobile wallet designed to combine payments, ticketing, coupons and loyalty programmes.

A pilot for the wallet is planned for the end of this year with a full rollout from spring 2014.

The Belgian operator is billing the wallet as enabling in-app transactions although the examples it gives (catching public transport, eating fast food and watching a movie) all involve transactions in the physical world.  The announcement makes no mention of using NFC technology.

The operator is the country’s leading mobile operator under the Proximus brand with more than five million subscribers, according to Wireless Intelligence. The proposed service appears to rely on making purchases on an in-app basis.

The operator gives the example of a night out at the movies. “You use the app of your public transport provider to check timetables and buy a ticket.  Payment and storage of the ticket will be handled in-app.”

The description goes on: “On the way, you launch the app of the local movie theatre, select the film you want to see and directly buy the ticket. Here too, payment and ticket happen smoothly in app.” There is also a visit to a fastfood restaurant on a similar basis.  The process also includes offers, coupons and loyalty points.

Despite Belgacom’s involvement the service is open to any subscriber in the country with a smartphone and debit or credit card (not just one from BNP Paribas Fortis).

The platform,which will be provided by Accenture, will offer five components to merchants and app developers, who can integrate them into any mobile app.  These core components deal with mobile identity, security and the link to payment sources, starting with BNP Paribas Fortis’ recently announced MasterPass agreement.

Other modules take care of delivery and storage of tickets, distribution, storage and redemption of coupons, and of the link with loyalty programmes.