Bank of Uganda licences Cellulant’s payments operations

Cellulant will now be able to develop its operations locally and regionally while providing re-assurance to its business partners

Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Cellulant, a pan-African payment technology company, has been granted a payments systems operator licence by Uganda’s central bank—the Bank of Uganda.

The licence is in line with the National Payments System Act, 2020, which provides guidance in streamlining operators in the ever growing financial technology (fintech) space in Uganda.

Cellulant Group which was founded in 2003,launched operations in Uganda in 2009. The firm has a history of delivering inventive technical and financial solutions implemented with a seamless user experience. The company today powers collections and payouts for thousands of businesses in various sectors across 35 countries in Africa.

Thanks to its single API payments gateway that enables global, regional and local businesses to collect payments online and offline, serving its customers with locally relevant payment methods, including mobile money, cards and banks.

Cellulant’s new license means that it will now be able to develop its operations locally and regionally while providing reassurance to its business partners that Cellulant complies with local and international security regulations. Having partnered with six financial institutions and over 50 merchants within Uganda, Cellulant is availing proximity mobile banking and checkout solutions to its merchants across the country.

Frances Diribe, Cellulant’s Chief Risk and Compliance Officer welcomed the development. “We are delighted that the Bank of Uganda has now licensed Cellulant Uganda as a Payment Systems Operator (large funds transfer),” she said Nov.9 in a statement.

Diribe said Uganda currently has over 800,000 registered businesses and a fast-growing digital youthful population.

“We’re on course to double down our work in offering these businesses and their clients’ dependable payment options. By streamlining the business payment process, they can concentrate on growing themselves,” she said.

Cellulant boasts an 80% market share in providing payment solutions for all airlines in Africa including Emirates, Kenya Airways, Jambojet, and Ethiopian Airlines, among others.

They also provide solutions for the likes of Rubis, Oryx, Jumia, Kiku, MultiChoice, StarTimes, Zuku, National Water and Sewerage Corporation, and Umeme, among others. The company facilitates more than 300 million transactions per year with volumes in billions of dollars.

The pan-African payments pioneer recently announced its partnership with the global technology company, MasterCard, to empower millions of consumers across Africa to join the global digital commerce market through their virtual payment solution.

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