The French telecom company Orange is launching an online bank, after previously pushing back the launch of the service several months.
The launch of the service, known as Orange Bank, will take place on November 2. This follows the postponement of its initial launch, which was scheduled for July 6. Orange CEO Stéphane Richard announced the new date this week, first reported by French newspaper La Tribune.
Orange Bank will work similarly to other neo- or challenger banks in Europe, by granting users access to mobile banking and payment services — users will be able to make changes to payments, track transactions, and block or unblock their cards, for instance — combined with a physical debit card to be powered by Visa.
Users will also be able to send money to other Orange account holders via text message.
The bank supports both checking and savings accounts, as well as overdraft coverage for checking. Orange also plans to upgrade its physical stores so that they come equipped with a banking section for its new mobile banking users.
Orange Bank plans to gain two million customers in a 10-year span according to a report by Reuters, an impressive goal as France’s largest online banks (ING Direct and Société Générale’s Boursorama) have about a million customers each at present.
Read more at Reuters, TechCrunch, and La Tribune.