Orange Cameroon obtains government approval to operate like a bank and compete with banks/Micro Finance
Orange Cameroon obtains government approval to operate like a bank and compete with banks/Micro Finance
The mobile telephone operator Orange Cameroon announces that it was notified on July 5, 2022 by the Ministry of Finance, of obtaining the approval allowing the launch of Orange Money Cameroon SA, its subsidiary dedicated to financial transactions via mobile. “ Orange Money Cameroon SA becomes (thus) the very first payment establishment in Cameroon ”, specifies the operator.
Concretely, thanks to the obtaining of this approval, signed since May 5, 2022, underlines the mobile telephone company, ” Orange Money Cameroon SA is now authorized to provide, independently, payment services such as deposits, transfers and withdrawals of money, purchases of credits and telephone packages, payment of bills, salaries, taxes and duties, collection and collection of funds and receipt of international money transfers… ”.
For the managers of Orange Cameroon, this approval sets “ a new milestone in the development of Orange Money as a major player in financial inclusion for more than a decade, and leader in mobile payment in Cameroon ”. Indeed, according to data from the mobile telephone company, before obtaining the aforementioned approval, the Orange Money service, which will now be managed by an independent subsidiary, already claimed 10 million accounts in the countries, more than 100,000 business partners and approximately 200,000 direct and indirect jobs created.
In order to maintain this leadership and further develop offers in a very competitive local market, Orange Cameroon has appointed Cameroonian Anne Catherine Tchokonté Tholagheu as General Manager of its new subsidiary, who was already piloting the Orange Money service within the mobile telephony. She will be assisted by Serge Hervé Eyiké, appointed Deputy Managing Director.
New opportunities
In accordance with the regulations governing the exercise of the banking profession in the CEMAC zone, these two officials were also approved for these positions on May 5, 2022 by the Minister of Finance. At the same time as the accounting firm KPMG Central Africa, recognized as statutory auditor of Orange Money Cameroon SA, and the firm Bekolo & Partners, approved as first alternate auditor of the new company.
Orange Money Cameroon SA allows the Orange group to better position itself to capture new opportunities in the field of mobile payments, such as the recent generalization of the payment of taxes and duties via mobile, decided by the State of Cameroon. According to statistics from the Ministry of Finance, this decision allowed taxpayers to pay around 10 billion FCFA in taxes and duties via mobile, for the year 2021 alone.
The fact that the envelope collected via this method of payment represents only 0.47% of the 2,109.3 billion FCFA collected by the General Directorate of Taxes during the year 2021 is proof that the mobile payment market in the country still has significant room for improvement.
