Orange to offer visa mobile prepaid accounts to Orange money subscribers

Orange recently announced that Orange Money subscribers 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 Africa and the Middle East.  

Orange Money is the mobile phone-based payment service designed by Orange to meet the needs of customers. It offers Orange subscribers applications such as person to person money 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.

“The Orange Money program has already begun providing secure and convenient payment capability to 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.

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, transaction authorization, clearing and settlement services, and Visa-quality payment security.

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.