The reach of mobile money technology on the African continent is now being extended to include payments for fuel on the following the conclusion of a new agreement between Orange Money and Vivo Energy - Shell's Africa licensee.

The companies say Orange Money customers will be allowed to cash in and cash out money from their Orange Money account and pay at any Shell service station operated by Vivo Energy under their new agreement.

The service is only available in Mali, Cote d'Ivoire and Madagascar for the time being and plans are now in place to widen it to the rest of the continent by the end of June 2017.

Thierry Millet, Executive Vice President in charge of mobile financial services at Orange Group says the agreement which will be broadened to include Botswana, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mauritius, Senegal and Tunisia exemplifies the evolution of Orange Money.

"Orange Money has evolved well beyond money transfer to cover from now on all the essential transactions that our customers perform every day. It has become a decisive financial inclusion tool on the continent. Together with Vivo Energy, through this multi-country partnership, we significantly increase the number of merchants that accept mobile money transactions. This is a real gain of proximity for our shared customers that can pay in a fast and secure way, and cash in and cash out from any Vivo Energy outlet".

Both companies say they hope to add too their footprints and improve customers' experience by offering them more convenience as a result of the agreement. Orange Money customers will now have access to a network of over 1,000 Shell service stations to transact from while Vivo Energy customers, on the other hand, will gain access to the Orange Money platform.

David Mureithi, Executive Vice President at Vivo Energy says the company, which began distributing and marketing Shell-branded fuels and lubricants in December 201, is exploiting the potential of Mobile money on the continent.

"Mobile money represents a huge opportunity in Africa. Mobile Money services have gained momentum in a number of countries across the continent, led by operators, like Orange, looking to add to their portfolio value-added services. This initiative fits our overall strategy of offering innovating solutions, a convenient experience to our customers and develop a lasting relationship with them. Through this alliance with Orange Money, we want to expand the range of services we offer to our customers and also allow them to pay in a simple and easy way on our retail sites."

Orange revealed during the Paris Fintech Forum this week that they now have 30 million mobile money users across Africa. Orange Money was first rolled-out in December 2008 for customer living in Côte d'Ivoire.

According to the GSMA's Mobile Economy report 2016 more than half of the live mobile money services globally are in Sub-Saharan Africa. The service is driven by demand for fund transfers and other transactions such as airtime top-ups and bill payments.