Citi launches Citi Optimized Pay in Kenya in partnership with Visa and Cellulant

Challenge

Across Kenya, micro, small and medium businesses (SMBs) form the backbone of the economy. Yet, many of these small suppliers face long Days Sales Outstanding (DSOs) of 60-90 days. Delayed payments can strain cash flow and limit their ability to operate and grow, and many SMBs would prefer to be paid as quickly as possible. At the same time, corporate buyers often want to pay as late as possible to help preserve their own cashflow and optimize the use of working capital. This gap can have a significant impact on SMB financial stability.

Traditional supply chain finance solutions has only met 7 to 10% of the credit and working capital demand,¹ leaving a significant working capital gap across SMBs in Kenya. Corporate buyers and AP teams needed a practical payments approach that could enable faster payments to their SMB suppliers, while also supporting working capital priorities and streamlining the AP payment management experience.

Solution

Visa Commercial Solutions worked with Citi and Cellulant to launch Citi Optimized Pay, an innovative digital B2B payments solution that allows corporate buyers to pay suppliers using Citi Visa commercial cards — even when suppliers do not traditionally accept card payments.

This solution can help simplify the payment experience for corporate buyers and enable SMB suppliers to receive payments faster. Cellulant’s Tingg platform supports multiple payout options, including bank accounts and mobile wallets, giving suppliers greater flexibility in how they receive funds.

Results

How Citi Optimized Pay drives value

Driving stronger supply chains through collaboration

Visa Commercial Solutions, Citi and Cellulant partnered to address long payment cycles and working capital pressure across Kenya’s value chain. The collaboration reflects Visa Commercial Solutions’ commitment to helping businesses in their digital transformation journeys, as well as Visa’s vision of being the best way to pay and be paid.

About Citi and Cellulant

Citi supports corporate payments and working capital strategies for Kenyan clients with global banking and commercial card offerings. Cellulant delivers multi-channel payment infrastructure across Kenya through its Tingg platform.

1. International Finance Corporation, 2022. "Supply Chain Finance: Market Assessment: Kenya”.
2. The Kenyan Wall Street, 2025. “Visa, Citi, Cellulant Partner to Ease Small Business Payments in Kenya”.

Forward-looking statements. This content may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are identified by words such as “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “projects,” “could,” “should,” “will,” “continue” and other similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact could be forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made, are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control and are difficult to predict.

Third-party logos. All brand names, logos and/or trademarks are the property of their respective owners, are used for identification purposes only, and do not necessarily imply product endorsement or affiliation with Visa.

As-Is Disclaimer. Case studies, comparisons, statistics, research and recommendations are provided “AS IS” and intended for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for operational, marketing, legal, technical, tax, financial or other advice. Visa neither makes any warranty or representation as to the completeness or accuracy of the information within this document, nor assumes any liability or responsibility that may result from reliance on such information. The Information contained herein is not intended as investment or legal advice, and readers are encouraged to seek the advice of a competent professional where such advice is required.