The first public phonecard in the world appeared in Belgium on February 14, 1977 (in fact, the first test was made in Rome -Italy- in 1975, around the Villa Borgese). It was the first of its kind and almost every country in the world followed the example.
 
 

The optical cards are broken into four main groups :

1. cards for everyday use, or durable cards (D),
2. special promotional cards and advertising cards, distributed by Belgacom (S),
3. publicity cards distributed by the advertiser, or private cards (P),
4. internal cards (service cards, test cards, experimental cards, and general internal cards).

They are broken down into two main groups :

1. special promotional cards and advertising cards, distributed by Belgacom (CP),
2. publicity cards, distributed by the advertiser (CP-P).

Belgacom has issued itself 4 types of remote cards : PhonePass (usable in Belgium), PhonePass Special Travel (usable during your holiday in another country, and you can use the balance back in Belgium), PhonePass Special France 1998 (usable in France during France 1998) and Scratch&Phone (in fact, private PhonePass). Then, its subsidiary Xl-Call has issued several cards...