Orange will launch its mobile-first banking service across France on 6 July, with plans to expand the service into its other European markets in the coming years.

Speaking at its ShowHello event in Paris, Orange Delegate CEO Gervais Pellissier said the launch of Orange Bank in its home market would likely be followed by deployments in Spain and Belgium.

The development of Orange Bank was first announced during 2016 when the operator took a controlling stake in Groupama Banque.

Orange’s marketing of the banking service will emphasise it as primarily designed for mobile, with a complete suite of banking services available through smartphones. In addition, it will offer an Orange contactless card which can be used instead of mobile devices for retail payments.

Despite the mobile focus, the operator is equipping 140 of its retail outlets with the staff and facilities to offer in-branch banking.

Orange Bank will use the company’s own app on Android devices, and perform contactless transactions through Apple Pay on iOS.

Stephane Richard, Orange CEO, said the bank heralded a new way of thinking about financial services, putting the users first and “thinking digitally”.

“Many [traditional] banks took their existing model and moved it online, that’s yesterday’s technology,” he said.

“Orange Bank has Orange’s backbone and its expertise in Orange Money. It puts users at the core of the system. We will enhance constantly. This is the first learning bank. This is a new way of thinking.”