Mobile banking launched in Côte d'Ivoire
afrol news
A commercial service allowing for smaller
payments and money transfers over the mobile phone was today launched
in Côte d'Ivoire. Other African countries may soon get the same
service.
The French telecom company Orange today
announced the commercial launch of its service "Orange Money" in Côte
d'Ivoire, the first country to benefit from this service within the
Africa.
With the new service, Orange customers are said to have "access to an
entire range of services making it possible to carry out day-to-day
banking operations and transactions in total security," according to
the company. These include depositing and withdrawing money from the
Orange Money account up to CFAF 100,000 (around euro 150), transferring
money from one person to another, buying call credit for up to CFAF
10,000, and paying bills.
The launch came after Orange entered into an alliance with the French
banking group BNP Paribas, through its Côte d'Ivoire subsidiary BICICI.
The bank is in charge of issuing and guaranteeing the electronic money,
while Orange is responsible for the service's platform and marketing.
"In this way, Orange and BNP Paribas are helping accelerate the level
of access to banking services in Côte d'Ivoire, an essential factor for
the country's economic and social development," according to a
statement issued by the telecom.
To subscribe to the new service, Ivorians do not need to have a bank
account. The Orange Money account was said to be "activated free of
charge and without any minimum deposit."
Orange Money was said to be built around a system that "guarantees
transactions against the risk of theft or fraud and that is fully
compliant with the regulations in force within the West African
Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU)." All transactions were said to be
"guaranteed for both end customers and recipients."
For its release and marketing, Orange Money is drawing on rural and
urban distribution networks available through Orange, BICICI and
Belkofinance, which were to be extended over time.
Commenting on this launch, Marc Rennard, Orange's Executive Director
for the African region, stated that: "By launching Orange Money today
in Côte d'Ivoire, we are bringing several months of work to a close
with a service that will make life easier for our customers by giving
them the possibility to easily carry out bank transactions using their
mobile, in total simplicity and total security."
Mr Rennard further indicated that the launch of his company's Orange
Money service in Côte d'Ivoire would only be a first step to bring this
mobile banking service to other African countries. "This event marks
the start of the service's deployment in other Orange countries over
the coming months," Mr Rennard said.
Also Amadou Kane, Head of the Africa Region for BNP Paribas, celebrated
the launch today. "BNP Paribas is very proud to have been able to
combine its know-how and image with those of Orange to design and
launch an innovative means for transferring money in Côte d'Ivoire," he
said.
"Through the launch of this service in Côte d'Ivoire, then in other
countries, BNP Paribas is committed to supporting the gradual
improvement of access to banking services for many low-income
households that do not have access to traditional banking services
today, in this way playing an active role in the economic development
of the countries concerned," Mr Kane added.