United Bank of Africa (UBA) Kenya and Pan-African payments company Cellulant have partnered to launch a payments gateway to accelerate the adoption of cashless payments in Kenya.
Through strategic partnerships, Cellulant is accelerating the drive for financial inclusion and economic wellbeing in Kenya and across the African continent. The digital solution is set to help businesses aggregate payments in a single view which will assist in efficient collection, reconciliation and quick decision making.
Speaking on Tuesday at the launch event at the Norfolk hotel, Cellullant’s Country Manager Faith Nkatha Gitonga said, Our partnership with UBA in Kenya will enable merchants to receive, view, and reconcile all their payments via a single application programming interface (API), cutting out the need to sign up for multiple payment providers,”
The partners and over 30 delegates drawn from across various sectors are confident that the platform will simplify some of the payment bottlenecks faced by businesses. The partners recognized the fact that the volume of global cashless transactions is projected to grow by more than 80 per cent by the year 2025.
Speaking about trends in payment behaviours, Faith said “How organizations and businesses make and collect payments has radically shifted in the last two or three years. Students or parents queuing to make payments at the bursar, churches giving envelopes to collect offerings, restaurants receiving cash payments or real estate agents going round to collect rent; all these are quickly becoming outdated as collection methods.”
In recent years, individuals and businesses alike have adopted digital payments reshaping the entire payments infrastructure which calls for the need for financial providers to innovate ways to make the shift seamless.
Digital payments basically pose the most significant opportunity to bring Africa’s economy at large.
Perhaps 38 per cent or less of the population will still be having a bank account given the rapid digital transformation happening in Africa.
Speaking on the partnership, Mr Chike Isiuwe, The CEO, of UBA Kenya said: ‘At UBA Kenya, customer experience remains our key focus and this partnership ensures that we constantly provide easy, efficient and timely innovative solutions to meet the ever-changing needs of our customers. This solution will change how individuals make payment and how merchants and institutions collect as it eases the process while also reducing transaction costs.”
“Digitisation plays a pivotal role in the financial lives of Kenyans today and the platform aligns with current customer payment behaviours and is expected to spur growth for local businesses, contributing positively to the expansion of the country’s economy.” Said Mr. Chike Isiuwe, CEO UBA Kenya.
The partnership builds on Cellulants, extensive payments infrastructure including 46 mobile-money operators in Africa, 211 banks including UBA Group and its service in 35 African countries with a physical presence in 18.
“Fintechs and banks’ collaborations open more opportunities that make the movement of money easier for businesses and their consumers across all sectors of the economy. Through strategic partnerships, Cellulant is accelerating the drive for financial inclusion and economic wellbeing in Kenya and across the African continent. Our partnership with UBA in Kenya will enable merchants to receive, view, and reconcile all their payments via a single application programming interface (API), cutting out the need to sign up for multiple payment providers,” Added Ms Nkatha.
