Orange to use Total stations as mobile money outlets

Telkom Kenya is set deepen access of its mobile money transfers services across the country following a partnership between its parent firm Orange and Total service stations that will see its customers deposit and withdraw money through the outlets.

The partnership inked Wednesday will benefit all Orange operations in Africa and Middle East but will first be rolled out in Senegal and Cameroon, and will go live in other countries where both groups are present in the second half of 2013.

Telkom Kenya aims to increase its number of mobile money agents by adding the 174 Total outlets where its customers will also be able to register for Orange Money and pay for their utility bills . The firm presently has slightly over 4000 agents.

The four mobile operators have a total 93,211 number of mobile money agents with Safaricom accounting for the largest portion with 65,547 in March giving it a huge command of the sector with 17 million customers.

Orange said it’s customers will benefit from the density of the total distribution network and benefit from service stations extended hours of services.

“We are creating synergies between two major groups in Africa and the Middle-East to better serve consumers. This agreement will add a whole new dimension to the Orange Money distribution network,” Marc Rennard, Executive Vice President for Orange’s Africa and Middle-East region said.

Other than using the Total outlets for withdraws and deposits, Orange subscribers will be able to pay for purchases made in Total service stations using their mobile account.

Safaricom and Airtel have similar partnership with Total which allows their mobile money subscribers to buy fuel at the stations through M-Pesa and Airtel money respectively in a rush to increase uptake and usage of their products.

Mobile phone based transactions hit Sh425 billion in the first three months of this year according to the latest a Central Bank (CBK) report.

This was an increase of Sh64.6 billion from a similar period last year. The rise in value of transactions indicates that mobile money continues to penetrate the country and has become part and parcel of peoples’ lives.