Emirates partners Cellulant to enable split payments in Africa

By Vriti Gothi

Dubai-based carrier Emirates has introduced a split-payment capability for customers in Kenya, enabling travelers to complete ticket purchases using multiple payment methods or staggered installments. The feature is delivered through Cellulant’s Tingg payment gateway and is expected to expand to additional African markets in the coming months.

Available on the airline’s website, the solution allows customers to combine mobile money, mobile banking, and local debit or credit cards for a single transaction. Travelers can also make an initial payment and complete up to four additional installments within 24 hours, helping them remain within mobile wallet transaction limits while completing high-value bookings.

The development addresses a structural challenge in many African markets, where mobile money is widely used but subject to per-transaction and daily caps. With more than one billion registered mobile money wallets across the continent, such limits have often prevented customers from completing large purchases such as international airfares, resulting in abandoned transactions.

Michael Muriuki, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Cellulant, said the integration aims to remove friction in high-value digital payments. “With hundreds of millions of Africans relying on mobile money as their preferred way to pay, extending this convenience to global travel payments is essential. Through Tingg, we are enabling Emirates customers to complete high-value transactions seamlessly, without transaction limits becoming a barrier to access.”

Christophe Leloup, Emirates’ Country Manager for Kenya, said the initiative supports the airline’s focus on improving the booking experience in a key growth market. “By introducing split payments through Tingg, we unlock greater flexibility and convenience while enabling more customers to access our product and services.”

Strategically, the move reflects a broader trend among global merchants to localise payment acceptance in mobile-first economies. For the FinTech sector, the rollout highlights the growing role of payment orchestration platforms in enabling cross-border commerce by bridging global merchants with local payment ecosystems.

The launch also coincides with Emirates’ capacity expansion on the Dubai–Nairobi route, where a third daily flight is scheduled to begin operations from 1 March 2026. By aligning increased seat availability with locally relevant payment options, the partners aim to convert strong travel demand into completed bookings.

Cellulant currently supports Emirates with payment and financing options across 14 African markets, including South Africa, Ghana, and Zimbabwe, as both companies seek to scale digital access to international travel across the region.