Orange Bank acquires challenger Anytime to expand SME focus
France-based Orange Bank has acquired a compatriot challenger bank, Anytime, aiming to improve its offering to businesses and professionals.
Orange Bank will expand Anytime to its retail stores across Europe
Founded in late 2017 in partnership with Groupama, Orange Bank is a financial services offshoot of the multinational telecoms firm.
The bank says its new acquisition is “fully aligned” with a multiservice banking strategy which has seen it expand across Europe and into Africa.
Anytime, founded in 2018, claims to be one of the few profitable challenger banks in France. It’s a Belgian bank with a subsidiary across the border.
It mainly targets small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), self-employed workers, start-ups and charities.
In July 2014, the company launched its first products aimed at teenagers but, at the end of 2015, it refocused on business accounts.
Users can make online payments in France and abroad. Businesses also benefit from an accounting and an expenses management tool.
Scaling up
Orange says Anytime will benefit from the “strength” of the Orange brand among SMEs and enable it to scale up.
Anytime co-founders Damien Dupouy and Thierry Peyre will remain at their firm, along with the management team. Orange plans to support Anytime’s growth with increased resources.
Anytime accounts remain available online, but will be gradually extended to other Orange channels, including in-store.
Starting in France, services will also be rolled out across Orange Bank’s other European countries.
“We’re happy and proud to join the Orange group,” reads a statement from the Anytime founders.
“This latest development recognises the strength of the Anytime business model, the first business-focused neobank to be profitable since 2018.
“This merger with Orange Bank will enable us to offer a greater range of business services and benefit from the powerful Orange brand.”
Neither party has disclosed the terms of the acquisition.
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