In a move set to reshape how Kenyan travellers pay for airline tickets, Emirates — the world’s largest international airline — has partnered with African payments technology company Cellulant to launch an innovative split-payment solution for customers in Kenya. The feature, enabled through Cellulant’s digital payments platform Tingg, empowers passengers to complete airfare purchases by combining multiple payment methods or spreading costs over short-term instalments. — a significant shift for consumers in Kenya’s predominantly mobile-money economy.
The new payment option, which debuted on Emirates’ Kenyan booking portal this month, allows customers to make an initial payment online, then settle the remaining balance in up to four additional instalments within 24 hours. These instalments can be funded using a mix of mobile money wallets like M-PESA, mobile banking transfers, and local credit or debit cards. This approach directly addresses longstanding payment limitations facing high-value online purchases in Kenya.
What Split Payments Mean for Customers
In practical terms, split payments let travellers break down the total cost of a ticket into manageable segments, rather than requiring full payment in a single transaction. For many Kenyans, this matters because daily and per-transaction limits on mobile money wallets often make it difficult — or even impossible — to pay for higher-value purchases like international airfare all at once. These caps, imposed by mobile money providers, can leave users unable to complete bookings and force them to abandon transactions mid-checkout.
The split-payment feature is deliberately designed to work within these constraints by letting customers combine different funding sources across multiple payment attempts, all under a unified checkout flow. For example, a traveller could start by paying part of a ticket with Safaricom’s M-PESA wallet, then clear the remainder using a bank transfer or card without exceeding any single provider’s limit.
According to Michael Muriuki, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Cellulant, the collaboration with Emirates extends the convenience of mobile money — which millions in Kenya rely on daily — into the realm of international travel. “Through Tingg, we are enabling Emirates customers to complete high-value transactions seamlessly, without transaction limits becoming a barrier to access,” he said.
Why This Matters in Kenya
Kenya is one of Africa’s most dynamic travel and digital payments markets. Mobile money services have become deeply embedded in daily commerce, with platforms like M-PESA facilitating billions of transactions each year. However, the very strength of mobile money — ubiquity and ease of use — also brings friction when customers try to make large purchases online. Transaction ceilings on wallets are intentionally set to manage risk and liquidity, but they can have the unintended effect of limiting customer choice and dampening demand for services such as long-haul travel.
By enabling split payments, Emirates and Cellulant are lowering one of the key barriers to accessing international flights for Kenyan customers. Not only does this enhance affordability for travellers with constrained payment limits, but it also aligns with broader financial inclusion efforts aimed at ensuring digital payment systems serve a wider range of consumer needs.
The launch of this feature coincides with Emirates’ expansion of its services in the Kenyan market, including the introduction of a third daily flight on its popular Dubai–Nairobi route from March 1, 2026, reflecting growing demand for connectivity. With both enhanced capacity and more flexible payment options, Emirates and Cellulant aim to make global travel more accessible and customer-friendly for Kenyan travellers.
For detailed information on how to use the split-payment option or to book flights with this feature, customers can visit the Emirates website’s Kenya booking portal.
