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Orange Money customers will have access to a Visa prepaid account
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The service enables Orange, in partnership with financial
institutions, to offer Visa prepaid account services on mobile phones
to unbanked and under-banked consumers
BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 29, 2012--
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:
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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.
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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.
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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.
Source: Visa Inc. and France Telecom-Orange
Press Only:
Visa Inc.
Elvira Swanson,
415-932-2564
globalmedia@visa.com
or
Asia
Pacific
Visa Inc.
Susan Chan, +65 6671 5768
suchan@visa.com
or
Central
Europe, Middle East, Africa
Fleishman-Hillard for Visa Inc.
Vanessa
Baard, +27 82 331 8158
vanessa.baard@fleishman.co.za
or
France
Telecom Orange
Orange (UK)
Vanessa Clarke, +44 789 105 6593
vanessa.clarke@orange.com
or
Orange
(France)
Mylène Blin, +33 1 44 93 93
Mylene.blin@orange.com