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Tag: Cellulant

  • Cellulant to dismiss 20% of its employees

    Cellulant to dismiss 20% of its employees

    Cellulant, a payments company based in Kenya, has decided to lay off twenty percent of its workers. 

    The company says this reorganization process will likely be put into action in the coming days. 

    Cellulant is currently going through a process of reorganisation that will have an impact on one-fifth of its staff. In a statement that was made public, Cellulant, a company that is active in 19 different markets, announced that these changes will be implemented in the next days as the firm concentrates on a product-led approach that ideally generates user-centric solutions for growth. Cellulant is currently in the process of implementing this product-led approach. 

    The corporation has made it clear that the implementation of this strategy shift has been in the works for some time, and it has reached consensus with the workers who will be impacted by the change. According to LinkedIn, Cellulant has 634 employees, despite the fact that the company has chosen not to publish the exact number of individuals that have left the company. 

    Read also: Tingg by Cellulant automates payments for petrol stations in Ghana

    Remark from Cellulant

    “Cellulant is moving towards a product-focused strategy which will, unfortunately, see approximately 20% of our pan-African team transitioning out of the company. We are committed to supporting our employees as we transition and cannot comment on their separation,” Cellulant said.

    Workers who are affected by the layoffs will get severance compensation, in addition to increased medical coverage for themselves and their families.

    “Our goal is to treat our impacted colleagues with dignity and respect. As such, we provide comprehensive separation packages and extended medical coverage for every impacted employee and their families in every country,” the company added.

    Remedies in place

    It’s no secret that the market has been difficult for new businesses to get into, both in Africa and elsewhere in the world. Aside from that, Cellulant claims that it has spent the past two years developing its company into “a merchant-focused payments business led by the productisation of its services and a complete revamp of its technology stack.” The company claims that the implementation of these improvements has resulted in an increase in the size of its customer base as well as a year-over-year increase in revenue of 100% for its core offerings. According to Cellulant, entering their subsequent phase of growth necessitated making the transition to an agile and product-driven organisation.

    Cellulant is taking on new responsibilities while simultaneously fulfilling some of its previous duties. Despite this, the payments organisation has not eliminated any departments; rather, it has “resized and reorganised for leaner efficient operations.” 

    The company is carrying out a second round of layoffs, the first of which occurred in the beginning of 2023. The fintech has re-confirmed its presence throughout all markets, notwithstanding the widespread dissemination of rumours concerning significant reductions in workforce size in certain markets. For example, it highlights Nigeria as an important market, where it works as the payment partner for a variety of industries including airlines, quick-service restaurants, online retailers, ride-hailing services, and retail stores, as well as remittances.

    Cellulant has also said unequivocally that it did not terminate the employment of thirty percent of its workers earlier this year. In its place, the company lost 27 employees, of which only four were Nigerian.

    About Cellulant

    Cellulant is the preeminent payment provider for international, regional, and African-based enterprises in Africa.

    They provide a single API payments platform that allows businesses to receive payments online and offline while enabling anyone to pay through their mobile money, local and foreign cards, or directly from their bank account. In addition, businesses are able to collect payments from customers regardless of where the transaction takes place.

    Tingg by Cellulant is a payment gateway that was developed specifically for use in Africa. It provides a singular, unified payment experience, making it possible for companies located in Africa or anywhere else in the world to take any and all applicable payment methods.

  • Tingg by Cellulant automates payments for petrol stations in Ghana

    Tingg by Cellulant automates payments for petrol stations in Ghana

    Tingg by Cellulant, an In-Store solution, is revolutionising the digital payments landscape in Ghana by giving Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) a consolidated hub for accepting payments from a wide variety of sources and settling transactions in real-time.

    With this development, OMCs throughout the nation may serve their customers more quickly and efficiently, increasing their level of satisfaction. 

    Over half of Ghana’s adult population already uses mobile money, making the country a pioneer in sub-Saharan Africa’s nascent mobile money industry. This has resulted in the proliferation of various payment systems and solutions designed to address the varying needs of companies and customers throughout the country.

    Despite this impressive growth, many large enterprises in the nation still find it difficult to send and receive payments. In order to accept both online and offline payments through a variety of ways, companies need to set up separate connections with various payment methods, such as card networks and mobile money service providers.

    In response to this issue, Cellulant, a major pan-African payments technology firm, pitched Instore on its digital payments platform, Tingg. Instore allows retailers to accept a variety of digital payment methods at the point of sale without investing in expensive hardware or software.  

    The ability to provide a smooth payment experience significantly influences revenue growth and customer satisfaction, especially for OMCs, where one firm has many branches around the nation and various pulls in a single branch.

    Read also: Cellulant Nigeria appoints Ibrahim Gbolahan Aminu as General Manager

    Tingg’s platform also provides offline usage

    Cellulant Ghana’s General Manager Eric Kortey says, “With Tingg, the OMCs can track and reconcile transactions more easily, reducing the risk of fraud and errors.” This degree of transparency and accountability contributes to the development of trust between businesses and their customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders, both of which are critical for corporate success. 

    We enable payments for companies, allowing them to concentrate on core operations and development. At Cellulant, we think that allowing businesses to collect effortlessly and payout is crucial for the development of the economy in which they operate and Africa as a whole.”

    Tingg by Cellulant is enabling payments for OMCs such as Star Oil, Zen Petroleum, Glory Oil, Nick Petroleum, Petrosol, Shell (Vivo Energy), BF Petroleum, and GTA (Groupe TransAfrica) in Ghana. Customers who fuel up at these petrol stations may pay via USSD, QR codes or the Tingg App. Tingg’s offline payments solution is accessible at all physical locations for these petrol stations, requiring users to merely have a mobile device and pay without using cash. Tingg has boosted its collections and transaction management efficiency for these OMCs by more than 50%.

    In addition to payment integration, the Tingg platform provides a reporting and settlement dashboard with a unified view of all collections from all channels, as well as the ability for companies to contact and engage with consumers through Tingg messaging capabilities.

    Cellulant partners Lusaka Chamber of Commerce to digitize payments

    About Cellulant

    Cellulant is a prominent Pan-African payments technology firm that offers global, regional, and local merchants locally relevant and alternative payment options.

    Cellulant offers a single API payments platform, Tingg, that allows companies to accept payments both online and offline while enabling anybody to pay using mobile money, local and foreign cards, or their bank.

    In 2021 alone, the firm executed millions of transactions. We have serviced over 550,000 unique customers through a network of over 100,000 merchants in all of Kenya’s main towns.

  • Kenya Fintech Cellulant Expands Operations To South Africa

    Kenya Fintech Cellulant Expands Operations To South Africa

    A Kenyan payment services provider, Cellulant, is expanding its operations to South Africa with a new business. 

    After testing the market for months, it is planning to round off fundraising for further expansion to the Middle East and the UK.

    In an interview, Chief Business Officer (CBO) Sike Bamisebi said the 20-year-old enterprise has plans to leverage South Africa’s mature retail ecosystem and, in the next two years, will begin operations in the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

    Bamisebi said this at the Africa Tech Summit in London, adding that Cellulant is about to close its latest fundraising round. 

    The firm is yet to announce the possible amount, it has in the past highlighted that it could raise as much as US$ 100 million.

    These emerging markets fall in line with our strategy to prioritise the top markets

    Read also: Cellulant partners Lusaka Chamber of Commerce to digitize payments

    According to the CBO, “These new markets fall in line with our strategy to prioritise the top markets.

    “We provide a valuable proposition in South Africa. We work with premium merchants and we give them access to these markets.” 

    Payment technology companies have been at the helm of the new wave of investment in African start-ups, which reached a record high of $5 billion in 2021.

    Businesses like Flutterwave in Nigeria are taking advantage of the continent’s growing e-commerce demand, which is being fueled by improved connectivity and a dearth of traditional banks

    Cellulant’s Backers

    Cellulant’s backers include TPG Growth’s The Rise Fund, which led a $47.5-million round in 2018. The company has offices in 18 countries and serves 35 others.

    The company assists businesses in receiving payments online and offline, including mobile money, cards or banks. Its clients include fintechs, banks, airlines,  and fast-food businesses such as Burger King.

    Investment into the start-up space has cooled globally, including in Africa, after a record $ 5 billion of investment in 2021. However, data from deal aggregator Briter Bridges shows the total amount of money raised this year is likely to match the previous year. 

  • Cellulant partners Lusaka Chamber of Commerce to digitize payments

    Cellulant partners Lusaka Chamber of Commerce to digitize payments

    An Africa-leading multinational payments company, Cellulant, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Lusaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) to provide digital payments.

    Members of the Lusaka Chamber of Commerce now have easy access to payment options that will allow them to accept payments using their clients’ chosen mobile money wallet.

    Cellulant’s Tingg payment platform is significant since it interfaces with more than 290 banks in Africa, making it a one-stop payments aggregator for both MNCs and SMEs. Tingg’s adoption across Africa is gaining momentum, particularly with products like In-store payments that utilize mobile money and mobile banking as payment options using USSD and QR Codes. 

    Tingg’s uptake is in high gear across Africa. This expands the number of payment choices merchants can offer their consumers and also makes business administration operations for merchants more streamlined. ensuring that customers have the most choice and flexibility offline and online.

    Read also: Cellulant Partners with Orange Money To Power Wallet Transfers For Botswana Banks

    Tingg’s plans to add the bank as a payment option

    Felix Mutati, the minister of technology and science, has said, “Cellulant has overcome the digital payment gap and is thrilled to notice that enterprises are shifting to technologies that will boost efficiency and effectiveness in payment acceptance.” In a speech given on his behalf by his Acting Permanent Secretary, Mrs Chikatizyo Musonda, he also encouraged companies to participate in the transition to cashless financial transactions that would benefit the economy as a whole.

    Gilbert Lungu, Cellulant’s national manager in Zambia, said, “Since Tingg went live, we have over 700 businesses around the country that can take mobile money payments and see and reconcile all transactions via a single platform. By working together, mobile payments eliminate the need for customers to sign up with numerous payment processors, and we’re working to include banks as a payment option so that customers have even more flexibility when making purchases from their phones.

    The LCCI, in its role as the “voice of business,” has expressed concern about the increasing splintering of digital payment methods, noting that most establishments only accept card payments and seldom provide any kind of mobile payment platform beyond peer-to-peer exchanges.

    According to LCCI President Mr Alexander Lawrence, “We are now in the digital era, and businesses must rise to the occasion by offering more digital payment acceptance points as this will reduce cash handling and further economic gains through the reduction of leakages”.

    “This emphasizes the importance of the private sector in ensuring that business is conducted as conveniently as possible for customers. All companies benefit from using Tingg for payments since it gives them complete financial freedom and helps them make more informed business choices”.

    Cellulant Partners With Botswana Mobile Money Company

    Adoption of digital payments solution increases in the Zambia market

    More and more indicators suggest that the Zambian market is prepared to embrace innovative payment solutions that streamline corporate processes. The number of mobile money users in Zambia grew from 8.6 million in 2020 to 9.9 million in 2021, as reported by the Zambia Information Communication Technology Authority(ZICTA) in its 2022 Annual Market Report.

    While the total value of all transactions went from ZMW 105.6 billion in 2020 to ZMW 169.4 billion in 2021, a growth rate of 60%, the total volume of mobile money transactions increased from 746.5 million to 843.1 million transactions, an increase of 11.7% annually.

    Through this partnership, LCCI members will have easier access to digital financial solutions that will help them take advantage of the aforementioned potential and speed up their company’s economic development through payment processing.

  • Cellulant Partners with Orange Money To Power Wallet Transfers For Botswana Banks

    Cellulant Partners with Orange Money To Power Wallet Transfers For Botswana Banks

    Eight banks in Botswana will now be able to do card-to-wallet transfers thanks to a cooperation between prominent Pan-African payments business Cellulant and Orange Money, the company’s mobile money service.

    Customers in Botswana can transfer money online from any bank account to an Orange Money wallet via the Orange Money Card-To-Wallet service. All Orange Botswana customers with bank accounts can use the Orange Money Card-To-Wallet service, which lets users send money instantly to any Orange Money wallet, no matter what bank they use. The recipient requires an Orange Money wallet; the sender only needs to have a registered Orange sim card. The sender does not need to have an Orange Money account.

    Read also: Kuda Bank suffers heavy losses in Nigeria

    Cellulant Partners with Orange

    Due to this cooperation, customers can now transfer money directly from their bank accounts through their cards and into their Orange Money wallets. Even though most banks in Botswana have mobile apps, some still do not offer this service to their clients.
    With the help of Tingg, this solution now lets bank customers move money from their bank accounts to their Orange Money wallets through the Orange Botswana website. Both banks with apps and those without are affected by this.

    The agreement also addresses the issue of the lengthy lines that customers encounter when speaking with agents. As a result, this solution provides bank customers with more options, which makes it simpler and easier for them to move money without any problems.
    Customers can also use their Visa or Mastercard debit or credit cards to access more MNO services and buy airtime through Tingg.

    Customers with bank cards from Botswana’s eight banks will be able to instantly move money from their cards to any Orange Money wallet by using the company’s many networks.
    “This service affirms our commitment to contributing positively to the growth of the informal and financial services sectors.” “The introduction of Card-To-Wallet aligns with our financial inclusion strategy that is centred around providing relevant and convenient solutions that address our customers’ everyday needs, as well as addressing our priorities around placing our customers first!” said Orange Money CEO Seabelo Pilane.

    Nigerian startup, Vella, provides international money transfers without stress

    Tingg is a payments platform from Cellulant that connects 211 banks across Africa (SMEs). It is a one-stop shop for payments for multinational companies, mid-caps, and small and medium-sized businesses.
    With features like in-store purchases that use mobile money and mobile banking as payment options using USSD and QR Codes, Tingg’s adoption across Africa is in high gear.

  • Cellulant Partners With Botswana Mobile Money Company

    Cellulant Partners With Botswana Mobile Money Company

    Orange Money, the mobile money service of Orange, and the leading Pan-African payments company, Cellulant, have announced a new partnership to enable card-to-wallet transfers for eight banks in Botswana.
    The Orange Money Card-To-Wallet service in Botswana enables customers to transfer money online from any bank account to an Orange Money wallet.
    The Orange Money Card-To-Wallet service is available to all Orange Botswana customers with bank accounts, allowing them to instantly send money to any Orange Money wallet regardless of who they bank with.
    The sender does not need an Orange Money account; they are only required to have a registered Orange sim card, while the recipient needs an Orange Money wallet.
    This partnership enables customers to move funds straight into their Orange Money wallets from their bank accounts through their cards.
    While most banks in Botswana have mobile apps, a few still do not provide this option for their customers. This solution will now allow bank customers to move money from their bank accounts to their Orange Money wallets through the Orange Botswana website, a process powered by Tingg. This applies to both the banks that have apps and those that do not.
    “The introduction of Card-To-Wallet aligns with our financial inclusion strategy that is centered around providing relevant and convenient solutions that address our customers’ everyday needs, as well as addressing our priorities around placing our customers first,” said Orange Money CEO, Seabelo Pilane.
    Customers can also buy airtime and access other mobile network operator services using their Visa, MasterCard debit, or credit cards through Tingg.
    Tingg is a one-stop payment aggregator that enables merchants to receive, view, service, and reconcile payments via a single platform.
    “We are pleased to partner with Orange Money Botswana to power payments for their Card-to-Wallet service. This is in line with our strategy to extend our services to merchants in Botswana with the aim of helping them digitize their payments,” added Cellulant Botswana country manager Bathusi Beleme.

    Read: FinTech Cellulant and NALA Release Platform for Cross-Border Payments in Africa

    Cellulant foretold collaborations

    Cellulant Nigeria has recently disclosed its view on partnership and plans to engage in collaboration. The organization says it sees a bright future for payments in Africa and that collaboration, rather than competition, will drive it forward.
    The Head of SME Sales at Cellulant Nigeria, Ademola Okuleye, who said this during an appearance on Arise TV’s Global Business Report, noted that though there are several fintech companies in Africa’s payment space alongside Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), cooperation, not competition, will drive the market’s growth.
    Okuleye said, “The outlook for payment is very bright, especially in today’s world where more fintech companies are rising to solve different problems for businesses and consumers in specific sectors and verticals.” This means that the payment space is becoming more competitive, which also presents a great opportunity for collaboration.
    “Our take is that we need each other to support the market fully; we need each other.” You can see this by the types of partners we have, such as our partnership with UBA Group to simplify payment experiences for their We also partnered with Grey Finance.
    “One of the benefits of technology is that Nigerians can work remotely for companies in other countries. Because of this, we partnered with Grey Finance, which lets anyone who signs up open and manage a virtual foreign bank account.”
    On the dominance of telcos in the payment space, Okuleye reiterated that they are not competitors but collaborators who will help expand broadband penetration useful for fintech.
    “There is room for everybody to operate. We do not see their coming into the digital payment space as a threat. We see it as an opportunity because to get the best out of the system. They need to get access to the internet in places where the current penetration is low. So, it’s good for everybody. Once they get internet access in those places, we will also have access to such subscribers and customers, “he said.
    Okuleye also said that getting broadband access in rural areas would help fintech and small and medium-sized businesses, which are very important to Nigeria’s economy. Okuleye said that even though Nigerians don’t use the internet much, Cellulant makes it easy for them to pay through its offline channels.
    According to him, once there’s a higher degree of broadband penetration, life would be easier for “payment companies and SMEs that are the heartbeat of business.”
    Okuleye said that even though Nigerians don’t use the internet much, Cellulant makes it easy for them to pay through its offline channels. Nigerians use our products across the country despite low internet penetration because of our offline options. have large enterprise customers with 300 to 400 outlets across the 36 states using the offline options,” he said.
    Cellulant is a leading pan-African payments technology company founded on a deep belief in the power of building a payments ecosystem that creates seamless interoperability across the continent.

    The rise of mobile money

    There has been a massive push for mobile money services in Africa, and the partnership will continue to cement Orange’s footprint on the continent. Orange has more than 130 million customers in the Middle East and Africa, where it works in 18 countries.
    Neighbouring South Africa’s telecom operators have started offering progressively more mobile financial services solutions to customers, including a trend of new lending products in the market.
    Safaricom’s M-Pesa service just started offering a Visa virtual card that lets people pay without cash at merchant locations in more than 200 countries. This is possible because Visa has a global network.

  • FinTech Cellulant and NALA Release Platform for Cross-Border Payments in Africa

    FinTech Cellulant and NALA Release Platform for Cross-Border Payments in Africa

    FinTech Cellulant and NALA have launched a cooperation with the goal of making cross-border payments more frictionless and lowering transaction fees for money sent from the United Kingdom and the United States to Africa.

    Remittances are the second-largest source of foreign resources for Sub-Saharan Africa, after Official Direct Assistance (ODA). According to Cellulant research, $48 billion was transferred to Africa in 2019, with Nigeria getting about half of the sum, followed by Ghana and Kenya.

    The report also identified obstacles to intra-African trade as well as trade between Africa and the rest of the globe, citing high transaction costs as a barrier to successful cross-border payment facilitation. Tanzania and Kenya have the highest transaction fees, at 17 percent and 21 percent for every $200 sent, respectively.

     

    Read Also : Toncoin Cryptocurrency Payments are Now Available on Telegram 



    Ting is a single API payments platform from Cellulant that allows global, regional, and local businesses to accept payments online and offline using mobile money, local and international cards, or directly from their bank. The platform enables interoperability across Africa by powering payments for 220 million people on a single inclusive network.

    NALA, a Y-Combinator-backed startup, offers an app that allows Africans residing in the UK and the US to send money to the continent quickly and easily. The application is presently available in Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and Ghana, with plans to extend to Nigeria and Ethiopia.


    Statement From NALA

    Nicolai Eddy, NALA Chief Operating Officer, stated, “Today, Sub-Saharan Africa is the most expensive region to move money into.” “There is a big opportunity to use technology to lower payment fees and establish next-generation payment and banking products in Tanzania and across the African continent.” NALA has created a fully digital platform enabling individuals and businesses in the United Kingdom and the United States to send money to friends, relatives, and employees in Africa. Cellulant was one of the continue first payment pioneers, and we chose to collaborate with them because of their significant expertise in the field and outstanding technical skills.”

     

    More On The New Platform By Cellulant

    “Cellulant eliminates a significant barrier for enterprises entering Africa, as they must deal with 54-55 distinct payment providers and several currencies, with at least one for each country.” We can meet all of these objectives with a single platform, single API, single contract, one web tool, and a single point of management for all operations thanks to our presence in 35 countries. “This agreement combines Nala entirely digital cross-border payment capabilities with the required infrastructure to enable them to effectively deliver their services across the continent,” stated Cellulant Chief Revenue Officer David Waithaka.