By John Churu, Gaborone, Botswana
Orange Botswana continues to forge partnerships with both the non-banking and other financial services providers to reach its wider clients. The latest is a deal carved between the country’s leading and only A-Rated insurance company.
Botswana Insurance Company (BIC) and Orange Botswana have entered into a partnership which will now enable BIC customers to make their premium payments through the Orange Money mobile money service.
This service is accessible to BIC customers who are also Orange Money subscribers and will be able to pay their premiums directly from their Orange Money accounts using their mobile phones. The partnership aims to provide convenience for BIC customers by offering them the convenience of paying their premiums from anywhere at any time, said a communiqué sent to biztechafrica.
Orange Money offers easy-to-use and secure mobile financial services and transactions; it can be used at any time, 24hrs a day, 7 days a week without the need to visit any of the BIC offices. Botswana Insurance Company policy holders can open Orange Money accounts for FREE at any Orange Shop or authorized partner.
BIC is the leading short term insurance provider since 1975 offering a wide range of personal commercial and specialized insurance solutions. It is the only AA- rated insurance company in Botswana; the highest national rating a short term insurer in Botswana currently can be accorded by Credit Global Ratings.
Orange Botswana is a leading mobile operator and provider of telecommunication services in Botswana serving more than one million customers countrywide on a GSM/GPRS/EDGE/3G+/Wimax and 4G net.
On the other hand, Botswana was the first country in the world where this new innovative program for enhanced mobile payments had been launched, following 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, did progressively offer the Orange Money prepaid Visa card
Thierry Millet, Director of the strategic NFC and payment programme at Orange added during the launch of the Orange Money project then: “I am proud to announce this world’s first launch that will give unbanked population access to a Visa card and to all related services thanks to their Orange Money account. By combining the convenience of Orange Money with the reach of Visa’s global payment network, we can offer new payment capability to Orange Money customers in their home country and abroad.”
