Emirates now allows Kenyans split their flight payments with Cellulant partnership

Booking an Emirates flight just got easier for Kenyans who rely on mobile money. The airline has partnered with Cellulant to let customers break up payments in installments instead of paying the full amount upfront.

The new system, powered by Cellulant’s Tingg payment gateway, lets people combine different payment methods, mobile money, mobile banking, and bank cards, or spread payments across up to five instalments within 24 hours.

Someone booking a Nairobi-Dubai flight can now make a deposit today and complete the payment in smaller amounts over the next day.

Emirates announced the partnership today and said the split-payment feature is live on its website for Kenyan customers. The airline plans to roll it out to other African markets in the coming months.

Why transaction limits have been reducing flight bookings

Mobile money is the most common payment method in Kenya. However, mobile wallets like M-Pesa have daily transaction limits. Because of these limits, it can be difficult to use mobile money to pay for expensive items such as flights to Dubai.

That means people who have the money can not actually complete the purchase because their payment method won’t let them send the full amount at once. Many abandon bookings entirely when they hit this wall.

Cellulant’s split-payment system solves this problem. It allows customers to divide the total cost into smaller payments that their mobile wallet can handle, keeping them within their daily spending limits. Alternatively, customers can combine different payment methods, such as mobile money, card, and bank transfer, to pay the full amount.

More flights, better payment options

Emirates is adding a third daily flight between Dubai and Nairobi starting on March 1st. This increase in flights is not by chance. The airline’s existing two daily flights are consistently full, indicating a high demand for travel on this route. The new flight will help meet this strong demand.

The airline is adding more flights, but they know that people need to be able to afford the tickets. To help with this, they’re offering flexible payment options. This makes it easier for Kenyans who want to fly to book their tickets without payment problems.

Michael Muriuki, Cellulant’s Chief Product and Technology Officer, said the feature addresses a real gap in Africa’s payment infrastructure.

“With hundreds of millions of Africans relying on mobile money as their preferred way to pay, extending this convenience to global travel payments is essential,” he said.

Christophe Leloup, Emirates’ Kenya Country Manager, called Kenya one of the airline’s most dynamic markets and said the split-payment option enhances the booking experience while making Emirates services more accessible.

Cellulant already processes over 4.5 million transactions daily across 24 African countries and supports more than 200 payment methods. The company works with Emirates in 14 African markets, including South Africa, Ghana, and Zimbabwe, offering various payment and financing options tailored to each country.

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