Orange has launched its Orange Money service in France, as part of its strategy to diversify and grow revenues by expanding in mobile payment and banking services. The service in France initially enables money transfers to three countries in Africa and within mainland France. It will work to build on the Orange mobile money services already available in Africa, which are already used by over 18 million people in 14 countries.
Recipients will be able to withdraw money from over 30,000 Orange Money points in the three recipient countries. An Orange Money app will be available soon in France, and Orange will look to expand the money transfer offer from France to other countries over time.
Run by Orange's subsidiary W-HA, which is authorised to issue and manage electronic money, Orange Money does not require customers to have a banking account, only a mobile number and ID. It is free to open an Orange Money account. The services are available in France at news agents, call shops, local grocery stores and tobacconists, as well as an Orange Money store in Paris.
To carry out a money transfer, the customer credits their account with a bank card or cash at a point of sale. They then log onto their Orange Money account directly from their mobile by ringing #144#, entering the mobile number of the recipient as well as the amount to transfer and confirming the transaction with their Orange Money password. The transfer is then completed and the money is immediately available in the recipient’s account.
Orange aims to compete with traditional money transfer services by offering much lower fees. Within France, all money transfers cost just EUR 0.50. For international destinations, the costs range from EUR 3 for transferring up to EUR 100 to EUR 8 for over EUR 250 to EUR 400, the maximum for a single transfer. Deposits cost EUR 0.50, and withdrawals cost EUR 5.
