NAIROBI, Kenya, February 25, 2026/APO Group: Emirates, considered as the world’s largest international airline, has introduced a first-of-its-kind split-payment solution for travellers in Kenya, through a longstanding strategic partnership with Africa’s leading payments technology company, Cellulant.
The split-payment capability, enabled by Tingg, Cellulant’s payment gateway, has started in Kenya and is expected to roll out to other African markets in the coming months.
The Tingg’s split payment feature, accessible on Emirates’ website, offers greater financial flexibility by allowing customers to combine multiple payment methods across mobile money, mobile banking, as well as local credit and debit cards. The partnership also enables customers to make an initial payment online, followed by up to four additional instalments across 24 hours, thus unlocking greater purchasing power and making airfares more accessible to mobile-first customers.
“With hundreds of millions of Africans relying on mobile money as their preferred payment gateway, extending this convenience to global travel payments is essential,” commented theChief Product and Technology Officer, Michael Muriuki at Cellulant.
“Through Tingg, we are enabling Emirates customers to complete high-value transactions seamlessly, without transaction limits becoming a barrier to access.”
While the Emirates’ Country Manager for Kenya, Christophe Leloup, said, “Kenya is one of the most dynamic markets on our global network, and we’re always looking for ways to enhance our customer experience across every touchpoint, including the booking process. By introducing split payments, through Tingg by Cellulant, we unlock greater flexibility and convenience, while enabling more customers to access our world-class product and services.”
Solving a Real Pain Point: Split-Payment Breakthrough
Mobile money is viewed as the dominant payment gateway across Africa, with over 1 billion registered mobile money wallets and more than 80 billion transactions totalling over USD1 trillion. Yet despite its widespread adoption, per-transaction and daily limits on mobile wallets often prevent customers from completing high-value purchases, such as international airline tickets, forcing customers to abandon bookings.
By introducing the split-payment solution available through Cellulant’s payment platform, Tingg, Emirates directly addresses this challenge by allowing customers to complete ticket bookings while remaining within the provider-imposed limits.
The split-payment feature joins Emirates’ raft of other financing designed to make airfare more accessible to customers. In Kenya, Emirates enables payments through mobile apps such as M-Pesa and Safaricom or via mobile banking transfer, through partner banks, via Cellulant.
Across the region, Emirates and Cellulant also facilitate a variety of finance options in South Africa, Ghana, and Zimbabwe.
