Today, Groupama and Orange announce that they are entering exclusive negotiations with a view to working in partnership to develop a new banking model that will enable Groupama to strengthen its online banking business and Orange to successfully diversify into banking services.
The negotiations could lead to the acquisition by Orange of a 65% stake in Groupama Banque. This way Orange would benefit from an existing operational infrastructure for the launch of Orange Bank.
The launch of “Orange Bank” is planned for the start of 2017 in France, followed by other European markets such as Spain or Belgium. The services offered will cover all standard banking services as well as savings, loans and insurance services.
During the presentation of the “Essentiels2020” strategic plan in March 2015, Stéphane Richard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Orange, had already announced the the French telecom’s plans to diversify its operations by capitalizing on its assets and in particular by concentrating its efforts on mobile banking, which offers important growth prospects. The plan’s objective is to reach €400 million in revenues from financial services by 2018.
From its creation, Groupama Banque has positioned itself as a multi-channel bank. Orange will bring its digital knowledge to develop a 100% mobile offer to tailor the new use patterns increasingly spread among the customers of both partners.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Stéphane Richard said: “Orange benefits from a unique combination of essential assets that will enable it to successfully launch a highly innovative, 100% mobile bank. These include a strong brand embodying key values such as security and reliability, a solid distribution network and above all the confidence of 28 million customers in France. This legitimacy in the world of financial services has already materialized with the success of ‘Orange Money’ in the Middle East and Africa region, and more recently with the successful launch of ‘Orange Finanse’ in Poland. Our partnership with Groupama, which has recognized expertise and key assets in the areas of both banking and insurance, will enable us to accelerate the implementation of our strategic ambition to be able to offer our customers Orange Bank services in France from the beginning of 2017.”
The partnership with Orange will accelerate the deployment of such innovative banking offers and will leverage the network of local Orange stores as well as the highstreet branches of Groupama and its subsidiary Gan.
Image over the headline.- Stéphane Richard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Orange. © Antonin Bourgeaud (Havas) for Orange.
