Through this partnership, Cellulant's users will be able to shop online with or without a bank account while benefiting from a secure payment experience.
Cellulant is a Pan African payments technology company that provides locally relevant and alternative payment methods for global, regional, and local merchants. The company’s API payments platform, Tingg, enables businesses to collect payments online and offline while allowing anyone to pay from their mobile money, local and international cards, or directly from their bank.
According to the official press release, Mastercard’s partnership with Cellulant is part of its ongoing efforts towards financial inclusion. The global card issuer plans to bring a total of 1 billion people, and 50 million micro and small businesses into the digital economy by 2025.
According to the 2021 Economic Outlook conducted by the Mastercard Economics Institute, 20% to 30% of the COVID-19-related increase in digital commerce will remain a key component of overall retail spending. The same source suggests that consumers are likely to access these shopping opportunities using mobile devices.
A GSMA report on the mobile economy in Sub-Saharan Africa reveals that smartphone connections are expected to reach 678 million in 2025, with a penetration of 65%. As alternative payment methods driven by mobile payments are beginning to dominate the digital payments landscape, consumers increasingly expect access to a more extensive range of online offers and digital financial services.
According to the official press release, most of these consumers work predominantly with micro, small and medium-sized businesses. While Africa currently has around 100 million MSMEs, less than 5% of their transactions are conducted through digital channels. Some key features that virtual cards can provide for these businesses include reconciliation and quick settlement of day-to-day payments, a minimised risk of fraud, and better management of customer and supplier relationships.
In June 2022, Cellulant has partnered with five Zambia-based water utility companies to provide digital payment services. According to Cellulant, this collaboration allowed customers of water utility companies to conveniently pay their water bills with their preferred mobile money and selected bank accounts (Standard Chartered Bank, Zambia National Building Society, and Natsave).
In April 2022, Cellulant partnered with Tanzania-based fintech NALA to offer remittance payments from the US and UK into Africa. This partnership aimed to facilitate seamless cross-border payments and reduce the cost of sending money from the UK and the US into Africa.
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