Rabat – Orange France customers are now able to send direct financial transfers to accounts in Morocco and Burkina Faso at any time of day through the Orange Money mobile application.
The two new markets join Madagascar, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, and Mali.
“By introducing international money transfer, we want to offer our customers an alternative to traditional means of receiving money across borders,” said Orange Maroc CEO Yves Gauthier.
“From now on, their mobile phone allows them to receive money from their relatives living in France at a lower cost, instantaneously and securely,” he added.
The French telecommunications giant first launched the Orange Money mobile service in 2008 in Côte d’Ivoire. The service quickly spread through the African continent, enabling 45 million customers in 17 countries access to financial services.
Orange Money reached Morocco on March 10 after the service received approval from Morocco’s central bank, Bank al-Maghrib, in the summer of 2019. Morocco was the 18th country to secure access to the service.
The Orange Money app allows Moroccans to make payments, pay for phone recharges remotely, and transfer money using their mobile phones.
Users have access to a mobile Orange Money wallet backed by their phone number and can withdraw money from the wallet at approved points of sale.
Mobile users from any telecom operator can access the service by simply downloading the mobile application.
The mobile service aims to increase financial inclusion in Africa, and the need for fintech is greater than ever due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The health crisis we are going through has shown that mobile-to-mobile money transfer is a key benefit for our customers,” said Christian Bombrun, senior vice president of products and services for Orange France.
“The opening of two new corridors, in Burkina Faso and Morocco, is an important step in Orange Money’s development strategy worldwide,” he continued.
Orange Maroc is the second-largest telecommunications company in Morocco after Maroc Telecom, with a market share of 34.06%. Inwi is third with a market share of 23.02% and also launched a mobile money service in Morocco in September 2019.
With the new link to Orange France, Moroccans can now make use of international money transfers, helping to facilitate the much-needed growth of remittances from Moroccans residing abroad (MREs) amid the COVID-19 crisis.
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