Vodafone said users of its wallet app will be able to make NFC-based payments in locations such as shops and restaurants using MasterCard debit and credit cards in a number of European markets “within weeks”.

The operator currently offers Vodafone Wallet in six markets: Germany, Spain, UK, Italy, the Netherlands and Hungary. Users can already add loyalty cards to the wallet and, since 2013, can make contactless payments from SmartPass, the operator’s own pre-paid account for mobile money.

Vodafone struck an agreement to launch contactless payments in five of the same European markets (the wallet app had not launched in Hungary at that point) with Mastercard rival, Visa, earlier this year.

At the time, Vodafone said the Visa-based service would become available in Q2 2015. In fact, it confirmed to Mobile World Live, the Visa and MasterCard launches are happening on the same timescale.

As well as making payments, MasterCard (and Visa) cardholders can also check their balance and look up recent transactions via the wallet app.

They activate the service by inputting their MasterCard card number into the Vodafone Wallet. Higher value transactions require a user-defined 4-digit PIN for authentication.

Anyone wanting the new service must have a Vodafone NFC SIM, as well as NFC-based Android smartphone.

SmartPass is a prepaid account offered by Vodafone. Before using it for contactless, subscribers need to add a credit or debit card to the SmartPass app and then top up the account before they can make payments. Paying direct with a virtual Visa or MasterCard card is a more straightforward process.