Now avaialable in 13 countries including Botswana, Kenya, Uganda, Mauritius, and Egypt, Orange Money has announced today that it has hit over 10 million customers, celebrating with a bonus to the 10 millionth customer of Orange Money in Dakar, Senegal.
Ms Kanny G., who had gone to an Orange Money outlet to open an account, was surprised to learn that she had won a smartphone with an Orange Money credit of 100,000 FCFA (152 euros).
“Orange Money is a revolution in terms of customer experience, and the appeal of this service is the best proof that we made the right choice when we decided to offer mobile payment services in 2008. I am very proud to be in Dakar today to meet our 10 millionth Orange Money customer. While making a strong contribution to economic and social development, mobile financial services also represent a major growth engine in Africa and the Middle East as well as in Europe for Orange,” said Stéphane Richard.
Though not close to Safaricom’s M-PESA over 17 million users, Orange Money’s growth is worth celebrating. The service is now available in 13 countries: Botswana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt (under the name Mobicash), Guinea, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal and Uganda. In 2013, more than 2.2 billion euros in transactions were conducted through Orange Money. The ten million mark has just been hit, and in some countries, such as Côte d’Ivoire, more than 40% of all Orange customers have an Orange Money account.
According to the firm, the success of the Orange Money service is closely linked to that fact that it meets strong expectations by people in Africa and the Middle East. It adapts to lifestyles in countries where only a minority of inhabitants have bank accounts yet the majority have a mobile phone. It makes life easier for users every day by giving them a way to keep their money safe or by saving time on all of their transactions.
Subscription to Orange Money is free of charge. After opening their accounts, customers can do money transfers, allowing them to send and receive money by phone; use the service to pay for goods and services, whether to pay bills from partner companies (e.g. water, electricity or TV service) or to buy airtime; and have access to financial services enabling them to wire money to and from a bank account, pay wages, etc.
Orange recently launched Orange Money International Transfer for mobile-to-mobile money transfers between Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Senegal, which has achieved a market share of 15% in a matter of months; partnered with Visa in Botswana, giving Orange Money subscribers easy access to new transaction options at Orange outlets, online and in licensed vending machines; partnered with Total on distribution and merchant payment in service stations for greater access to Orange Money.
This year, the firm says it wants to open additional corridors for international transfers, create services for customers with bank accounts, and the develop new interfaces for smartphones. Orange also wants to build up its distribution network, especially in the most remote regions, as proximity is a key success factor for Orange Money.