Visa Europe has partnered with payment and transaction services provider Worldline to pilot NFC mobile payments using host card emulation (HCE) with four French banks in the first quarter of 2015.

The participating banks will be able to offer the service via a dedicated app or integrate it into their existing mobile banking apps, the partners say.

To use HCE payments, customers will download the app to their smartphone and then activate the service using a security code supplied to them by their bank. They will then be able to make payments at any of the 300,000 contactless point-of-sale terminals in France with their Android phone.

“Eventually, the service will facilitate and secure many use cases such as the payment of a ticket or loyalty programs,” Worldline says.