As part of the strategic alliance with the mobile operator Orange, Wirecard will provide the E-Money and scheme license as well as the technical platform needed to manage the mobile payment application. Users of Orange Cash can now make mobile payments at any contactless Visa terminal in more than 530,000 stores across Spain and at 2.4 million acceptance points throughout Europe. All that is required is an NFC-enabled smartphone with the app and an NFC-SIM card.

Javier Ramírez, Mobile Banking and Payments Director, Orange Spain, says: "Orange's innovative spirit and our desire to offer our customers the most useful and advanced services at all times have led us to develop Orange Cash with Visa and Wirecard, our first foray into financial services from the mobile phone. The announcement we made today is for us a decisive commitment on a business line that we expect to continue developing in the future, with more and better solutions that leverage all the benefits of security and utility that the mobile phone provides for the financial services."

"We are looking forward to supporting the Orange mobile payment initiative in Spain. This positive development confirms the success of the Orange Cash product strategy" comments Christian von Hammel-Bonten, Wirecard's Executive Vice President Telecommunications. "We offer our partners like Orange complete end-to-end solutions from a single source: from payment including the requisite issuing licences, integrated added value services up to the technical infrastructure. As a key company for financial technology services we are shaping the market with the latest innovations in the mobile payment business."

Wirecard Group is responsible for the design, implementation and processing of all technical and financial processes related to the payment app Orange Cash. This includes the issuing and payment processing of digital Visa cards. Wirecard Card Solutions Ltd., a member of Visa Europe, is the card issuing institution. All functions of Orange Cash are combined in an intuitive smartphone application developed by Wirecard. The app provides an outstanding usability and design combined with innovative functions like incentives and cashback offers and real-time information about balance and transactions. To complete the concept, the prepaid-based accounts are able to make purchases securely in any online shop using a one-time virtual credit card generated in real-time through the mobile application. These one-time cards are valid for a short period of 24 hours at only one merchant.