German vendor Wirecard launched an NFC-based payment service for Android smartphone users in four European countries: Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Belgium, while also looking for partners, including operators, for the service.

The new service, which is called boon, enables point-of-sale purchases by users with NFC-capable smartphones running Android 4.4 or above.   Users in the four countries can now download the boon app from the Google Play store. Other countries will follow, said the company.

The service is based on a virtual pre-paid MasterCard card issued by Wirecard Card Solutions. The card, which works everywhere where the credit card giant’s contactless technology is accepted, is topped up by bank transfer or credit card.

Wirecard appears to be adopting a dual-stream approach, whereby it acts as a service provider and potentially a white label provider too. It is looking for collaborators, including distributors and other partners for the future promotion of boon.

Potential partners include banks, mobile operators, retailers and e-commerce merchants. Their adoption of boon would lead to its promotion and wider take-up among users, at least that’s Wirecard’s model.

In 2016, Wirecard will add a loyalty service and personal finance options, including micro credits, P2P payments, to boon.