Payments by SMS have already taken off in Flanders in many parking areas and on the buses and trams of De Lijn, the Flemish public transport authority, which recently extended its SMS ticket to all three mobile networks.

The new system, to be introduced later this year, would make it possible to pay for goods and services at any retailer equipped with the necessary terminal. The system uses what is called Near Field Communication (NFC), which forms a wireless link between the customer's phone and the retailer's terminal. In the beginning, most phones would need to have an NFC sticker attached, but as time goes on more and more phones would come with the NFC chip built- in. NFC also allows the chip to be recharged via the phone.

The system would essentially replace Proton, the cash card system, which is already being phased out. The banking/mobile phone group working on the new system aims to make payments not only easier but more secure: many people decline to use Proton because if the card becomes lost, the money is, too. The NFC system would allow a lost or stolen chip to be blocked.

"The mobile electronic wallet should be safe and easy to use for the consumer and the retailer," said Dominique Michel, director of Comeos, the federation for small retailers. "But clearly there are a number of questions that remain to be clarified: what charges will be made on the retailer, what equipment will be required and how much will it cost. A payment system like this has to also be advantageous for the trade."

Meanwhile, the city of Brussels is to introduce Quick Response (QR) codes at buildings and other places of interest to allow visitors equipped with a smartphone to get immediate information by scanning a code.

A QR code is similar to a barcode, but contains more information. When scanned with a smartphone (a suitable application may need to be installed) the code gives access to a webpage with information - in the case of Brussels, in Dutch, French and English. In the first phase, 30 locations will be coded, including museums, libraries and administrative offices.