Visa Europe and Orange have announced a partnership to encourage the use of mobile-based contactless payments in France.
They’re starting by launching a service called Orange Cash, which will enable Orange customers with an NFC-equipped smartphone to make contactless payments. Customers will be able to download the Orange Cash app and add credit to their Orange Cash prepaid account with a debit or credit card.
Orange Cash is being launched available to Orange customers in Strasbourg and Caen early next year, with a nationwide rollout planned for the second quarter of 2014. The service has been designed and managed by Wirecard Card Solutions, which will run the technical platform for issuing and provisioning virtual Visa cards onto NFC-enabled SIM cards.
Sandra Alzetta, Executive Director for Mobile at Visa Europe, said “Our partnership with Orange marks a significant step in the adoption of mobile payment. This agreement is based both on Orange’s unique expertise in NFC and Visa’s technologies, and the trust placed in our respective brands. This partnership is in line with our innovation strategy and allows us to offer a service which makes consumers’ everyday lives easier.”