Orange celebrated steady gains in its banking unit two years after its launch, and revealed it is poised to open its digital banking offer to the public in Spain.

The company said Orange Bank now has more than half a million customers, with new users joining at a pace of more than 20,000 per month.

Around 25 per cent of new customers are acquired through loan products, while the remainder sign up for standard bank accounts, it added.

It said the services “most appreciated by customers” include mobile payments, SMS money transfers and real-time balance updates. It plans to add support for Google Pay into the mix “soon” for customers with Android devices.

Paul de Leusse, CEO of Orange Bank, stated its progress to date “confirmed that we have the right strategy”.

Orange Bank initially launched in France, but the company said it expects to rollout a digital banking offer in Spain “in the very near future,” which will include bank accounts, Mastercard cards, Apple Pay and other “innovative functionalities”.

It added it also plans to deploy a savings and loan offer in Africa sometime in 2020.