Orange Expands Mobile Money Service to Support International Remittances:

Orange is launching an international money transfer service that will allow transfers between Mali, Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire.

At the moment, roughly EUR200 million is moved between those three countries in the form of money transfers each year.

Orange's service allows money to be sent and received from mobile phone accounts so that users no longer need to have cash with them when they travel, and sending cash doesn't have to be done by a third party.

For example, a customer in Cote d'Ivoire can send money directly to friends and family or to suppliers in Mali or Senegal with their Orange Money account. All the sender needs to do is to dial #144# from his or her mobile phone, then enter the Orange telephone number of the recipient and the amount to be sent. The money is immediately available in the recipient's account to make payments, purchases or transfers, or it can be withdrawn at a nearby location from any Orange Money distributor.

If the recipient is not yet an Orange Money customer, they can open an account free of charge.

"In launching Orange Money International Transfer today, several months of work to simplify life for our customers come to fruition. We are proud to be the first operator to offer customers the ability to make international money transfers between mobile phones in this area of Western Africa," says Thierry Millet, Director of the strategic NFC and payment program at Orange.

Orange's goal is to expand this service in Africa to other countries in which the Group is present. Available in 13 countries in Africa and the Middle East, Orange Money has more than 7 million customers today.