COUNTRY FOCUS: FRANCE
of Google Pay should increase this figure
enormously. Google Pay is a mobile and
secure payment method that can be used
for contactless payment at the checkout,
online shopping and payments within apps.
Thanks to Wirecard’s technology, Orange
Bank customers can now pay quickly and
easily with any Android smartphone with
NFC functionality. All they have to do in
shops that offer Google Pay as a payment
method is hold their mobile device to the
POS terminal and unlock the screen of their
device, without opening the app.
With Wirecard’s support, every Orange
Bank customer now benefits from the
advantages of cashless payment. Even
before the corresponding Orange Bank credit
card arrives, customers can use the app to
www.intelligentcio.com
pay online or in-store. All it takes is a simple
registration process. Thanks to innovative
security functions, cashless payment via app
is still possible even if the card is lost or stolen.
According to an eMarketer study, France
is one of the leading nations in mobile
banking with a mobile access rate to bank
accounts of around 70%. In addition, about
6.6 million people or 15.6% of smartphone
users in France pay at least once every six
months with their mobile phone in stationary
retail stores. Orange Bank recognised this
trend early on and, together with Wirecard,
developed an innovative mobile banking
solution that enables, among other things,
contactless payment by mobile phone – the
dispatch of money by instant message or
instant bank balances.
“We already had very good experiences with
Wirecard when we first launched Orange
Bank. We were therefore delighted to be able
to count on the support of our experienced
partner for this project as well. Every Orange
Bank customer with an NFC smartphone can
now benefit from the advantages of cashless
payment – something they greatly appreciate
along with checking their balance in real time
and sending money by SMS,” said Stéphane
Vallois, Deputy CEO at Orange Bank.
Philippe Laranjeiro, Head of Sales, Digital
and Telco at Wirecard, added: “Together with
Orange Bank, we are continuing to make our
vision of a cashless society a reality. France
in particular is a very interesting market as
the adoption rate in the mobile banking
sector is already very high there.” n
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