Orange Bank celebrates its second birthday as it continues to grow

Two years after its launch, Orange Bank is living up to its initial promise; occupying a position in the banking market with an offer that differentiates it from the competition: simple, accessible, above all mobile and regularly enriched with new services such as transfers by SMS in 2018 and the Visa Premium card in 2019. In October, Orange Bank launched the financing of mobile devices and other purchases in Orange stores. Orange Bank has also just signed a partnership with the real estate services platform Nexity, to propose a home loans offer. Lastly, Google Pay will soon be available for customers with Android phones.

Over 20,000 new customers per month

With over 500,000 customers coming from Orange stores, Groupama branches and digital channels, Orange Bank is acquiring new customers at a respectable rate of over 20,0004 per month. Apart from the volumes, the success is down to added value: ¼ of customers are acquired through loans, a major difference with other online banks, and ¾ through bank accounts4 which enjoy a high level of activity as 54%4 of these customers carry out an average of more than one transaction per week. An average of 10%4 of accounts are now being opened with the Visa Premium card.

A major advantage for Orange Bank is the link with the Orange and Groupama store and branch networks which is proving very effective. The Orange stores now propose over the counter loans representing nearly 5,000 sales4 since its launch, and the holders of a Visa Premium card benefit from a 5% discount on their purchases in Orange stores. At Groupama, car insurance is also available with a car loan for customers who wish to benefit from it. [

Partnership with Nexity

The development of the bank's distribution network has been enriched by a partnership with Nexity, the real estate services platform, intended to finance real estate projects. Through this partnership, seen as being of strategic importance, Nexity intends to become a source of new business for Orange Bank, with a shared vision: to be a player in the digital transformation of lifestyles. The first applications are expected to be processed by the end of 2019.

In response to the growth of its customer base and the diversification of its range of offers, Orange Bank is investing in resources; unlike many online banks, its 878 employees are based in France, Montreuil and Amiens, and benefit from an average per capita training budget that is 40% higher than other French banks. This justifies the attractiveness of Orange Bank which receives 20,000 job applications per year.7 This investment in human resources, as well as the gradual digitisation of the bank, has helped to increase the productivity of the customer relations centres and back offices by 30% to 40% depending on the activities. [

Recognised customer experience

In view of the results to date, Orange Bank is looking forward to its third year with dynamism and enthusiasm. The Orange Bank value proposition, based on putting the customer experience first, has been acknowledged by both its customers and industry experts. Orange Bank has therefore been awarded, for the second year running, "Best digital proposition" by D-Rating, the ratings agency. Among the functionalities most appreciated by the customers are: the balance updated in real time, mobile payments and transfers by SMS.

Outside France, Orange Bank is present in Spain and in the very near future it will open up its digital banking offering to the public with a bank account, a MasterCard card, Apple Pay and innovative functionalities for sharing with family and friends.

In Romania, Orange launched a debit card offer in early 2019 which is currently winning over 7,000 new customers every month. In Africa, the Group has obtained a banking licence from the Central Bank of West African States, which should enable it to roll out a savings and loans offer in 2020.

Paul de Leusse, CEO of Orange Bank, said: "The first 2 years of Orange Bank's existence have confirmed that we have the right strategy: make digital banking widely available, offer our customers functionalities that encourage their activity and fully associate Orange Bank with its partners Orange and Groupama."