Telecoms giant Orange becomes the first major Telecom in France to enter the online banking, as Reuters first reported. Orange’s rival Altice, which owns France’s second biggest network operator, is expected to join the race in 2019.
Orange Bank is to offer its customers use of an instant, secure mobile payment service as well as a free debit card. Its online app will also make it possible for users to transfer money via a text message to another Orange account.
Customers of Orange Bank can Pay either with their bank card or their mobile, Send money by SMS, Temporarily deactivate their card, and reactivate it again if the card is retrieved, Check their bank balance in real time and, by interacting with the virtual advisor, get answers to requests 24/7.
„From the outset, Orange Bank offers all the attributes of a traditional bank: a current account, a bank card, an authorized overdraft (6), a free complementary insurance package (7), a savings account remunerated at 1% interest (8). The offer will gradually be enriched with services such as personal loans or mortgages. Each new feature will be proven, measured and improved based on customer feedback. The virtual advisor will eventually be able to perform tasks at the request of customers, such as making transfers or saving.”, according to the press release.
France’s largest online banks, ING Direct and SocGen’s Boursorama, have some 1 million clients each. Orange Bank aims to win some 2 million customers in 10 years and break even in four to five years.
Orange aims for a 25% share of the surging online banking market, widening its portfolio of services offered through its smartphones. The company is thus entering a new sector, as the French telecoms market becomes saturated.
The Telecom giant is confident that its technological edge and a 21 million telecom client base will give the company an edge in the online banking business in France. Orange expects to make €400 million from online banking services in 2018.
The chief executive of the new Orange Bank, Andre Coisne, has previously worked for the online platforms of traditional banks ING Direct and Credit Agricole’s BforBank.
Orange is already entering the online banking market in Poland and Africa. As the leading online banking market in the world, Africa is expected to yield half of the revenue stream for Orange.
Consultancy Ernst & Young projects a six-fold growth of the online banking business over te next decade. Growth is driven by the advent of Open Banking regulation, which should allow companies access to banking data with the customers’ consent, allowing for the development of tailor made needs.
The company also expects banking to work in synergy with its telecom services, as Orange going beyond the offer of media content to consolidate its customers’ base.
Source: neweurope.eu
Banking 4.0 – „how was the experience for you”
„So many people are coming here to Bucharest, people that I see and interact on linkedin and now I get the change to meet them in person. It was like being to the Football World Cup but this was the World Cup on linkedin in payments and open banking.”
Many more interesting quotes in the video below:
