Orange Money Group and Visa struck a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating online payments and widening access to digital financial services across Africa and the Middle East.

Under the deal, Orange Money customers can generate a virtual Visa card directly through the operator’s Max it app. The card can be funded at any time from an Orange Money account and used for secure online payments on local and international websites. A physical card option is expected to follow at authorised Orange Money outlets.

The tie-up builds on existing deployments of the service in Botswana, Madagascar and Jordan, where the partnership has now been renewed. It also follows a successful new launch of the Orange Money Visa virtual card in the West African country of Cote d’Ivoire.

The partners now plan to expand the service into additional markets including Guinea, Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Orange Money CEO Thierry Millet said the tie-up “will help make Orange Money a widely accepted payment method” across the continent.

Ismahill Diaby, VP and general manager for Western and Central Francophone and Lusophone Africa at Visa noted the partnership will help “bring the advantages of the digital economy to millions of people across Africa”.

“By combining Visa’s trusted technology with Orange Money’s local reach, this partnership offers a simple, secure way for more people and small businesses to pay online – helping them participate confidently in everyday commerce,” he added.

Orange serves more than 173 million customers across 17 African countries, with 45 million active Orange Money accounts.