Orange and Visa aim to boost access to financial services in MEA

Details: Vaughan O'Grady; Category: Mobile Finance; 15 December 2025; 6257 views

Orange Money Group, the mobile money service of telecommunications service provider Orange, and payments giant Visa have announced a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating online payments and democratising access to financial services across Africa and the Middle East.

Directly accessible from the Max it app, the Orange Money Visa virtual card allows users to instantly create a card that can be funded anytime from their Orange Money account, enabling secure online payments on local and international websites. A physical card will also be made available at authorised Orange Money points of sale at a later stage.

Already successfully deployed in Botswana, Madagascar and Jordan, where the partnership has been renewed, the virtual Visa card has been recently launched by Orange Money Côte d’Ivoire. This launch, say the partners, was a success.

They add that this alliance marks a new milestone in the shared ambition of the two companies: to provide millions of users with a simple, secure, and internationally recognised payment solution.

Building on its success to date, the card will be gradually rolled out to new markets such as Guinea, Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Orange has over 173 million customers and 45 million active accounts across 17 countries in Africa.

As for how the virtual Visa card will benefit Orange itself, Thierry Millet, CEO, Orange Money Group, explains: “Thanks to Orange Money, our 45 million customers can make everyday payments at millions of physical retail locations and with online merchants in their country. Whether they are individuals or entrepreneurs, they can now create their virtual Visa card in just a few seconds and make international online payments across the Visa network. This is the first step in this strategic partnership, which will help make Orange Money a widely accepted payment method, from major online platforms to local neighbourhood merchants.”