Orange Money, an African mobile money transfer service, has partnered with Total, an African gas station chain, to provide money transfer access in at least 1,300 locations in 13 African countries where Total does business, according to a report in AllAfrica.

The countries include Kenya, Uganda, Botswana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger and Senegal as well as Jordan in the Middle East.

Marc Rennard, executive vice president for Orange’s Africa and Middle-East region, said, “We are proud to unveil this partnership with Total as we are creating synergies between two major groups in Africa and the Middle-East to better serve consumers. This agreement will add a whole new dimension to the Orange Money distribution network.”

Total’s ambition is to take a leading position in mobile payment distribution in Africa, said Momar Nguer, Total’s marketing and services division director for Africa and Middle-East.

“It’s a new example of our ability to innovate and anticipate our customers’ needs,” Nguer said.

Orange enables customers to transfer money from mobile to mobile, to pay bills, withdraw and deposit money through a network of certified distributors. Some Total service stations are open extended hours seven days a week.

This first stage of the partnership is already operating in Senegal and Cameroon, and will go live in 1,300-plus service stations in 11 other countries this year where both companies do business.

In a second phase to be rolled out in the future, Orange Money customers should be able to pay for purchases in Total service stations using their mobile accounts, the report says. Total has about 15,000 service stations worldwide, according to its website.