Orange Money expands through Shell network

The Pan-African partnership covers nine countries - Botswana, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Senegal and Tunisia - where both companies overlap and where Orange Money is available.

Under this agreement, Orange Money customers will be allowed to cash in and cash out money from their Orange Money account and pay in any Shell service station operated by Vivo Energy.

The services - already available in Mali, Cote d’Ivoire and Madagascar - will be extended to the rest of the common footprint by mid-2017.

This agreement was made in an effort to strengthen both companies’ footprints and to improve customers’ experience by offering them more convenience. Orange Money customers will have access to a network of over 1,000 Shell service stations to transact from. On the other hand, Vivo Energy customers will enjoy the trusted and secured services offered by the Orange Money platform. They will also save time and money on their payment transactions.

Commenting on the partnership David Mureithi, executive vice president at Vivo Energy, said: “Mobile money represents a huge opportunity in Africa. Mobile Money services have gained momentum in a number of countries across the continent, led by operators, like Orange, looking to add to their portfolio value-added services. This initiative fits our overall strategy of offering innovating solutions, a convenient experience to our customers and developing a lasting relationship with them.

“Through this alliance with Orange Money, we want to expand the range of services we offer to our customers and also allow them to pay in a simple and easy way on our retail sites.”

Commenting,Thierry Millet, executive vice president in charge of mobile financial services at Orange Group, explained: “Orange Money has evolved well beyond money transfer to cover from now on all the essential transactions that our customers perform every day. It has become a decisive financial inclusion tool on the continent. Together with Vivo Energy, through this multi-country partnership, we significantly increase the number of merchants that accept mobile money transactions. This is a real gain of proximity for our shared customers that can pay in a fast and secure way, and cash in and cash out from any Vivo Energy outlet.”