29 Sep 2017

Orange Botswana has launched a new and improved Orange Money Visa Card convenient for Orange Money users travelling outside Botswana.

Speaking at the launch with the slogan: Orange Money – Going Beyond Borders, on September 26, Orange Money director, Mr Seabelo Pilane, said the evolution of the card was in line with Orange’s continued endeavour to promote financial inclusion and bring financial services even closer to Batswana.

This development, Mr Pilane said was one that Orange Money subscribers had been eagerly waiting for and would most certainly welcome it with open arms.

“With this new card we believe our customers can travel the world with peace of mind and have access to their Orange Money wherever they are.

Customers just need to deposit money into their Orange Money wallet and can swipe or make cash withdrawals in their travels outside of Botswana,” he said.

The new Visa card comes with a design that features a chip and Personal Identification Number functionality and is accepted internationally.

Orange Money customers currently using the existing mag-stripe Orange Money card that was launched in 2013, Mr Pilane said could continue to use their cards in Botswana.

At the launch in 2013, he said the card was the first of its kind in Botswana and Orange still remained the only mobile network operator that offered a card linked to a mobile money wallet.

Through this partnership, he said ‘Orange Money has afforded over 530 000 subscribers an opportunity to participate in financial transactions, thereby contributing to Botswana’s everyday wellbeing, especially in the case of customers without bank accounts.”

Until now, Orange Money director said transactions at Visa authorised ATM’s and point-of-sale (PoS) ‘swiping’ machines were only possible in Botswana.

However, he said customers had been able to purchase and pay online.

“This is an opportune time for Orange to introduce this card, as the current card has performed well in the market and continues to do so, competing impressively with cards issued by the local banks,” he said.

He also added that as at June 2016, Orange Money Visa cards accounted for 24 per cent of the debit cards in the Botswana market, ‘and we expect this figure to grow with the introduction of our new and enhanced Visa card.’

With the festive season approaching, Orange Money director said the new orange Money Visa card offered a unique experience to Batswana who loved to travel beyond the borders of Botswana.

In her welcome remarks, Orange Botswana marketing executive, Ms Lame Madiba said Orange Botswana perceived itself as a mobile network operator that put its customers first and strives to provide innovative solutions that suit their needs.

For that reason, she said the new Orange Money Visa card had been revamped and enhanced with extra security features to afford customers an opportunity to use it internationally, anytime and anywhere in the world.

Unveiling the new Visa card, Orange Money products manager, Ms Yvonne Abram said it had a new look and features that distinguished it from the existing card, as it had a greyish map of the world to under score its international capabilities.

The existing card, Orange Money product manager said was still valid and available at Orange Shops, Choppies Stores, Sefalana and other distributors nationwide.

 However, she said for starters, the new card would only be available at Orange shops. ENDS