Orange, a French telecommunications provider, is rolling out a new set of mobile payment services in Botswana in conjunction with Visa. According to a news release, the services will allow Orange Money subscribers easy access to funds 24 hours a day, bringing new point-of-sale, online and ATM transaction options to consumers. Currently, Orange Money allows customers to use their mobile phones to transfer funds to any mobile phone subscriber in or outside the country, buy airtime and pay bills.

Beginning this month, registered Orange Money subscribers in Botswana can use their account to make Visa-enabled payments and pay invoices at stores, international online merchants and at more than 300 Visa ATMs across the country, the company said.

To access the services, subscribers must apply for a prepaid Visa card, which will be instantly linked to their existing account. The card, secured with a PIN code, will then allow subscribers to use funds to make point-of-sale payments at retailers and withdraw cash at ATMs. Subscribers will also receive a secured virtual Orange Money prepaid Visa card for Web purchases.

According to the release, Botswana is the first country to receive the enhanced mobile payments program. The launch follows the announcement of a group-wide collaboration between Orange and Visa in 2012. Other countries in Africa and the Middle East, where Orange Money is already available, will progressively offer the Orange Money prepaid Visa card.

"This is a significant milestone in Visa's strategy to drive financial inclusion," Hannes Van Rensburg, Visa's head of digital solutions for emerging markets, said in the release. "The program will contribute to the mobile money revolution in Africa, enabling many more people to access the benefits of the formal financial system."

Developing countries in Africa and the Middle East are among the first target markets for Orange and Visa to deploy cross-over prepaid products and services, the release said, helping to drive economic growth and financial inclusion by migrating cash spend to electronic payments.

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