Etisalat and German vendor Wirecard are to show off two mobile payment services at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

In one demonstration, the operator will enable users to accept credit card payments using a card reader plugged into a smartphone. The other enables users to make NFC-based contactless payments via smartphone at point-of-sale terminals enabled with MasterCard’s PayPass technology.

Some of Etisalat’s markets, such as Nigeria, Egypt and Afghanistan, have low penetration of credit card terminals meaning card readers could prove a popular means for small businesses to accept card payments.

In the near future all NFC-enabled smartphones sold by Etisalat will come with a NFC-enabled SIM card, the operator said. Existing subscribers will upgrade their SIMs by going into an Etisalat store.

And future mobile wallet services will go beyond payments to embrace coupons and loyalty.

Wirecard specialises in electronic payment and risk management services. It recently announced a deal with Telefonica O2 Germany to handle payment processing and provisioning of a virtual card to the operator’s SIM card. It is already working with Deutsche Telekom in Germany.