Cellulant Partners Collaborates With NALA to Facilitate Low-Cost Cross-Border Payments into Africa

NALA, a Tanzanian Fintech firm, has partnered with Cellulant, an African Payments Company, to facilitate remittance payments into Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Ghana from the United Kingdom and the United States.

Remittances are the second-largest source of foreign resources for Sub-Saharan Africa, after Official Direct Assistance. In 2019, Africa received around $48 billion in remittances, with Nigeria getting roughly half of it, followed by Ghana and Kenya. Despite a drop in remittance inflows in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic, cross-border payments increased in Kenya and Ghana. Inflows of remittances into Sub-Saharan Africa increased by around 6% in 2021.

Nicolai Eddy, NALA’s 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.” At NALA, we’ve created a fully digital platform that allows 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 continent’s first payment pioneers, and we chose to collaborate with them because of their significant expertise in the field and outstanding technical skills.”

Across all geographies, the cost of sending money into Africa is the greatest. Tanzania and Kenya continue to have the highest charges, with 17% and 21% for every $200 sent, respectively. The transaction cost is one of the challenges to success in facilitating cross-border payments as intra-African commerce and trade between Africa and the rest of the globe grows.

This cooperation adds to Nala’s entirely digital cross-border payment capabilities by providing the infrastructure needed to deliver their services across the continent.

The collaboration between Cellulant and NALA intends to make cross-border payments more frictionless and to lower the cost of sending money to Africa from the United Kingdom and the United States.

Tingg (Tingg.africa), a single API payments platform provided by Cellulant, allows global, regional, and local businesses to collect payments online and offline while allowing anyone to pay using mobile money, local and international cards, or directly from their bank. The platform enables interoperability across Africa by powering payments for 220 million consumers on a single inclusive network.

“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 complements Nala’s entirely digital cross-border payment capabilities with the essential infrastructure to enable them to effectively execute their services across the continent,” stated Cellulant’s Chief Revenue Officer David Waithaka.

NALA, a Y-Combinator-backed startup, offers an app that allows Africans living in the United Kingdom and the United States to send money to their home countries without having to travel. NALA now operates in Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and Ghana, with plans to expand into Nigeria and Ethiopia. The firm plans to spread its services throughout Africa, the United States, and Canada.