BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--France Telecom-Orange (NYSE: FTE) and Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) today announced that Orange Money customers will soon have access to Visa prepaid account features inside their Orange Money accounts – a significant step in bringing Visa-quality payments to consumers in developing markets.
Orange Money is the mobile phone-based payment service designed by Orange to meet the needs of customers in Africa and the Middle East. It offers Orange subscribers applications such as person to person transfers, bill payments, and agent-based cash-in and cash-out services for loading or withdrawing funds. Launched in cooperation with local bank partners, the service was first introduced in 2008 and is presently available in eight countries across Africa and the Middle East. Orange plans to introduce Visa payment capability to Orange Money subscribers in select markets by the end of 2012.
“We already provide secure and convenient payment capability to 3.5 million unbanked or financially under-served African citizens,” said Jean- Paul Cottet, Orange’s Executive Director for Marketing and Innovation. "By combining the convenience of Orange Money with the reach of Visa's global payment network, we can offer new payment capability to Orange Money customers in their home country and abroad.”
Visa Mobile Prepaid, a new Visa product introduced in October 2011, enhances the security, scale and interoperability of mobile money programs, such as Orange Money, by enabling account holders to make person-to-person payments, retail and e-commerce purchases at merchants where Visa is accepted, or withdraw funds at Visa ATMs.
“Mobile technology has become one of the most important enablers of financial inclusion and its ubiquity is allowing mobile network operators, financial institutions, and Visa to connect financially under-served consumers to each other and the global economy,” said John Partridge, President, Visa Inc. “The convergence of mobile and financial services networks helps to remove service barriers, accelerates the pace of change and is transforming the lives of consumers in developing countries.”
Visa Payments with Orange Money: How does it work?
By integrating Visa Mobile Prepaid accounts into Orange Money accounts, Orange is connecting existing mobile money subscribers to VisaNet, Visa’s global payment network that is today utilized by 2.2 billion account holders, 30 million merchants and provides access to 1.9 million ATMs globally.
Working together on a multi-national basis, Orange and Visa will provide Orange subsidiaries and their local financial institution partners with the ability to offer all the features of Visa Mobile Prepaid accounts to their customers, including:
- Visa Payment Functionality – From retail and e-commerce transactions, to access to Visa-enabled ATMs, Visa Mobile Prepaid will add new payment functionality to a customer's existing Orange Money account. Consumers may also have the option of receiving a Visa prepaid companion card.
- Transaction Authorization, Clearing and Settlement Services – Visa will offer a full suite of payment processing and account management services supported by the world’s largest payments network, VisaNet.
- Visa-quality Payment Security – Visa Mobile Prepaid combines Visa’s advanced risk processing technology with the security and authentication features of mobile devices, offering consumers in developing countries peace of mind when making purchases. In addition, Visa’s fraud monitoring capabilities can help mitigate and prevent fraud.
Developing countries in Africa and the Middle East are among the first target markets for Orange and Visa to deploy cross-over prepaid products and services, helping to drive economic growth and financial inclusion by migrating cash spend to electronic payments.
About Orange
France Telecom-Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with 172,000 employees worldwide, including 105,000 employees in France, and sales of 45.3 billion euros in 2011. Present in 35 countries, the Group had a customer base of 226 million customers at 31 December 2011, including 147 million customers under the Orange brand, the Group's single brand for internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the company operates. At 31 December 2011, the Group had 167 million mobile customers and 14 million broadband internet (ADSL, fibre) customers worldwide. Orange is one of the main European operators for mobile and broadband internet services and, under the brand Orange Business Services, is one of the world leaders in providing telecommunication services to multinational companies.
France Telecom (NYSE: FTE) is listed on Euronext Paris (compartment A) and on the New York Stock Exchange. For more information (on the internet and on your mobile): www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com, www.orange-innovation.tv. Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trademarks of Orange Brand Services Limited, Orange France or France Telecom.
About Visa Inc.
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world’s most advanced processing networks—VisaNet—that is capable of handling more than 20,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank, and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: Pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.