The end is here for Orange Bank, Orange’s 100% online bank! Faced with its lack of profitability, it will bow out by the end of the month. The last customers are expected to switch to Hello Bank.
Bad news if you are a customer of Orange Bank! The neobank, launched in 2017, is closing its accounts permanently. Like the vast majority of online banks, with the exception of BoursoBank and Fortuneo, the Orange subsidiary is not profitable and must close its doors, like Ma French Bank and HSBC France (see our article). Accessible only on the Internet, Orange Bank began a transitional phase last February to allow its future ex-customers to transfer their accounts to Hello bank, the digital subsidiary of BNP Paribas. The operation, which concerns some 400,000 customers, should end at the end of the month. The neobank may also have found a buyer for its credit portfolio. The adventure is about to end!
End of Orange Bank: 400,000 customers invited to change service
The least we can say is that the Orange Bank adventure has been a real fiasco. Since its launch in 2017, the neobank has still cost the sum of 880 million euros to Orange! It was never profitable, especially since the range of banking products and services offered was limited compared to its competitors.
So it’s Hello Bank that’s taking over! As we learn MoneyVoxthe online bank contacted the last Orange Bank customers eligible for the transition at the end of June, by post. They now have a few weeks’ reflection period. The entire operation should therefore be completed by the end of the month. To facilitate this transition, Hello bank has simplified its membership process, but has also set up an incentive system of bonuses of up to €430.
This is a real boon for the BNP Paribas subsidiary because it allows it to go from 800,000 customers in 2023 to almost a million, if we are to believe the information. Echoes. For the moment, Hello Bank does not wish to communicate the final results of this operation. It should communicate on this subject soon, probably at the end of August or beginning of September.
End of Orange Bank: what about the credit portfolio?
It should be noted, however, that the agreement between Orange Bank and Hello Bank only concerns bank accounts. The question remains of the consumer credit and real estate loan portfolio, partly inherited from Groupama Banque, which is still in the possession of the Orange subsidiary. According to Bloomberg, the latter is about to sell this portfolio to KKR, an American giant in private management, at the end of a sale process that has been underway for several months. The transaction concerns the sale of three portfolios, for an estimated amount of credits of 1.9 billion euros.
Orange Bank also played an important role in financing smartphone purchases on credit in Orange stores. To replace it, the operator signed another agreement at the end of June with another BNP Paribas subsidiary, Cetelem. This should guarantee the sustainability of financing solutions for customers!