Orange mulls banking partner options

Orange flagged it was in the process of reviewing its current banking partners, though the operator insisted the move was not a reaction to recent controversy surrounding supplier Wirecard. In a statement to Mobile World Live, an Orange representative said the review into Wirecard and others “started several months ago so is not as a result of the current situation,” adding “we are likely to announce the results of that review soon”. The comment follows reports by Reuters stating the company could be set to replace Wirecard, which filed for insolvency earlier this week. Orange has a long-standing relationship with Wirecard, having used the company to connect its Orange Cash service to Apple Pay since 2016. It subsequently announced a partnership with the payments company at the end of 2019 to link its Orange Bank app with mobile wallet Google Pay [1]. Troubled partner Wirecard endured a rapid fall from grace over the last ten days, resulting in the financial technology company initiating insolvency proceedings in Germany yesterday (25 June). The company's share price collapsed last week on reports almost €1.9 billion had gone missing from its accounts. Its CEO resigned a day later. Earlier this week, the company issued a statement noting there was a “prevailing likelihood" that "bank trust account balances in the amount of €1.9 billion do not exist”. Investigations are still ongoing. Prior to its current issues, the company had been the subject of a number of allegations [2] related to its accounts. In addition to Orange, the company has agreements in place [3] with a number of providers of mobile wallets and related providers. [1] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/money/news-money/orange-bank-adds-google-pay-integration/ [2] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/money/wirecard-rocked-by-new-accounting-allegations/ [3] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/money/news-money/wirecard-brings-chinese-payments-to-sweden/