German digital payments firm Wirecard has partnered with Romania’s Orange Money to offer digital payment and banking services in Eastern Europe.
Image: Wirecard partners with Orange Money to support contactless payments. Photo: Courtesy of Wirecard AG.
Under the partnership, Wirecard will now offer financial solution that enables contactless payments with physical and virtual Orange Money debit cards, smartphones, along with Fitbit and Garmin smartwatches.
Wirecard and Orange Money have been collaborating since 2014 in Europe. Wirecard has been developing and implementing all the technical and financial processes as per Orange Money’s design and requirements.
The German digital payments firm said that the solution developed by the partners was used by more than 500,000 users within the first two years of the collaboration.
With Orange Money app, Romanian users can make peer-to-peer (P2P) instant transfers via mobile phone numbers, transfer money using their individually assigned IBAN code, pay utility bills or recharge their Orange Prepay accounts.
Furthermore, the users can make purchases on internet using their virtual card in the app, manage card limits, reset the card PIN along with locking or unlocking the card instantly.
Wirecard Romania managing director Utku Ogrendil said: “Wirecard’s mission is focused on providing cutting-edge digital financial solutions, and the partnership with Orange is a significant part of our vision to create a cashless future.
“We are delighted to further partner on the innovative Orange Money service – a solution that offers many benefits to Romanian customers and also a new perspective on the payment market in Romania.”
Orange Money Romania CEO Haris Hanif said: “The partnership with Wirecard is an integral part of the digital solution Orange Money offers on the Romanian market and an additional guarantee of the quality of service that our customers are accustomed to and expect from us.”
Last month, Japanese SoftBank Group agreed to invest in €900m in Wirecard bonds and 5.6% stake in the digital payments firm. For this purpose, Wirecard will issue convertible bonds with five year term exclusively for SoftBank.
The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on partnership for digital payment solutions.
As per the MoU, SoftBank will support Wirecard to expand in Japan and South Korea, as well as providing collaboration opportunities within SoftBank’s portfolio in digital payments, data-analytics/AI and other innovative digital financial services.