Orange plans launch of branded credit card
Orange, the mobile phone network operator, is planning to launch its own branded credit card in April.
This disclosure comes as Orange launches a 5m campaign to advertise its national reach.
Orange is believed to be negotiating with a US bank, MB&A, which will facilitate the launch of an Orange-branded Visa card.
The card will be launched soon after the 2.5bn flotation of the company. Orange, launched in April 1994, has 410,000 subscribers in a total market of 5 million.
Orange card users will be able to accumulate Talk Points with each transaction, which can then be exchanged for free airtime.
Hoare Govett telecoms analyst James McCafferty says the credit card will serve as a crucial loyalty-building scheme in an increasingly competitive market.
He adds it will be difficult for Orange’s competitors, specifically Cellnet and Vodafone, to launch a similar loyalty scheme with the lure of free airtime because Orange is the only network which directly supplies its customers.
Vodafone and Cellnet have had to make use of service providers such as Talkland and Peoples Phone, which sell airtime to dealers and customers. Ultimately, it is the service providers that own the customers and set the tariff structures.
Vodafone and Cellnet have tried to gain more control over customer relationships by buying stakes in some service providers as well as launching direct-sell services.
Orange already offers subscribers a wine club and lifestyle magazine and a number of other third-party promotions through a programme called Horizons.
The launch of a credit card signifies another marketing coup for Orange which has already managed to grab a quarter of the digital section of the market.
