Telco Orange has joined forces with Commerzbank-owned mBank to build a mobile-based retail bank in Poland.
Orange and mBank teamed up in 2012 for a Polish mobile contactless payments service but are now taking their cooperation further with a full banking service - set to launch in the second half of the year - that will be designed specificity for smartphone and tablet users.
The new venture will be under the Orange brand, with the telco leading the customer recruitment and marketing charge while mBank concentrates on providing the actually banking services.
These services - aimed at consumer and small- and medium-sized businesses - will include mobile payments, current accounts, loans, deposits, and credit and debit cards.
Bruno Duthoit, president, Orange Poland says that bank customers increasingly demand simple and easy access to their money, regardless of where they are and that the combination of a telco and traditional lender is ideal to deliver this.