Cellulant, Mastercard Partner to Empower Africans on Digital Commerce

Emma Okonji

Cellulant and Mastercard have partnered to allow millions of Cellulant customers across Africa to shop and pay online with global merchants wherever Mastercard is accepted.

The Mastercard virtual payment solution, linked to Cellulant’s payment gateway – Tingg, can unlock a host of opportunities for consumers, whether they have a bank account or not. Consumers will be able to shop from well-known global digital commerce brands, paying quickly and securely for leisure shopping, travel, accommodation, entertainment, streaming services and more, while in their home countries or travelling abroad. 

According to Cellulant, for these businesses, virtual cards offer a compelling path to digitization with added benefits such as tracking, reconciliation and quick settlement of day-to-day payments, better management of customer and supplier relationships and minimised fraud risk all without sacrificing operational speed.

Chief Revenue Officer, Cellulant Group, David Waithaka, said: “We believe seamless payment experiences are the backbone for accelerating economic growth across Africa.  MSMEs are the driving force for Africa’s economy and our work in digitising payments for businesses and their consumers enables the requisite foundation for innovation, economic development and financial inclusion. By partnering with Mastercard, we are looking to further open up pathways that effectively position our customers for the growth they need.”  

Executive Vice President, Market Development, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mastercard, Amnah Ajmal, said: “Mastercard’s technology enables our digital partners to redefine their consumer’s digital commerce interactions and experiences.  By focusing on the provision of multi-use, omnichannel digital payment solutions, Mastercard is enabling its partners, such as Cellulant, to improve their operational efficiency, diversify their revenue, and transition seamlessly into digital commerce. We see the increasing proliferation of fintechs as a strategic opportunity to add value by creating more connections, better user experiences and greater choice for consumers.”