Telefonica is reportedly planning to introduce a mobile banking service in Spain, following its recently announced launch in Germany.

The move represents something of a change in strategy by the company, which has previously maintained it would not enter the field in its home market.

Spanish publication Expansion, which broke the story, cites analysts which believe the company has been influenced not to enter the banking segment, up until now, as two of its main shareholders, BBVA and CaixaBank, are financial institutions.

However, sources claim the company is now considering its strategy for a launch of banking services in the country, following reports at the end of last month declaring its O2 Germany unit will be rolling out in the country in late summer 2016, in collaboration with Fidor Bank.

Rival Orange, which earlier this year said it would launch a mobile banking service at the start of 2017 in France, could have also fuelled Telefonica’s interests in the space, adds Expansion.

Last week Orange Europe’s CEO Gervais Pellissier told Mobile World Live that it regards Telefonica as one of its three main rivals (alongside Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone).

The French operator, which is a major rival to Telefonica in Spain, said it also aims to launch banking services in Spain and Belgium, after France.