Global payments firm Adyen has partnered with pan-African payments firm Cellulant to offer its global merchants access to key local payment methods in major African markets.
The deal will see Adyen, which replaced PayPal on eBay, bring mobile money platforms such as M-PESA, Airtel Money, Equitel, Tigo Pesa and MTN Mobile Money, as well as several online and mobile banking payment methods to eBay, Facebook, Airbnb, Spotify, Uber and Netflix. Adyen will have access to 40 mobile money operators, over 600 local & international merchants and over 120 banks in Africa who work with Cellulant.
For African consumers, these means an increased access to services offered by global brands in categories such as air travel, media streaming, holiday travel, social network media buying, ride-hailing and food ordering, with the convenience of paying in local currency, via local payment methods.
“We are happy to extend our payments capabilities to Adyen and their customers. This presents a growth opportunity for global businesses who are looking to accept all forms of payments in Africa. In the next three to five years, 5 out of the top 10 world’s fastest growing economies will be in Africa and with a population of 1.2B- this is the right time for global businesses to be looking at Africa,” said David Waithaka, Cellulant Chief Business Officer for Global Payments.
Adyen will see further access to a potential addressable consumer base of over 220M who use either debit/credit card, mobile money or mobile banking payment options.
“We are excited to extend our payment capabilities into key African markets. With Adyen, businesses can cater to local expectations and needs, wherever their customers are,” said Roelant Prins, CCO at Adyen. “Eliminating boundaries across channels and geographies will help our customers’ businesses to expand by making these markets more accessible.”
