Tellar WhatsApp Utility Service Powers Payments

When you think of AI in fintech, your mind might jump to robo-advisors or fraud detection tools. But Tellar WhatsApp utility service is betting on something much simpler: giving Africans seamless access to essentials like data, airtime, and electricity without the friction of downloading yet another app.

Founded by Bright Robert, a software and DevOps engineer, Tellar was born out of a straightforward observation: commodities like airtime and data are not luxuries but daily necessities. “In university, I saw how people struggled just to top up or buy data,” Robert recalls. “That frustration sparked the idea to simplify it with the tools people already use every day.”

Instead of rolling out a traditional mobile app, Tellar chose WhatsApp as its starting point. The reasoning is simple: more than two billion people globally use WhatsApp, and in Africa, it’s the go-to app for communication.

Through Tellar, users can chat with an AI bot inside WhatsApp to buy airtime, data, or electricity. A wallet is automatically generated for each user, complete with a virtual account number, making top-ups and payments frictionless.

While Tellar already runs on WhatsApp, Telegram, and a web app, a standalone mobile app is in the works for later this year. Tellar soft-launched in April 2024, and the response has been encouraging: 1,500 users signed up at launch, with 300 active users, processed over 2,000 transactions, estimated volume at ₦5–7 million since inception, students and SMEs currently making up the largest share of its user base.

Retention has been driven by incentives such as cashback on transactions and payback rewards for monthly usage.

Tellar isn’t just a chatbot layered on payments but rather a lightweight AI system designed to simplify utility purchases.

• AI Layer: Once registered, the bot recognises a user’s number and allows direct purchases through chat commands.
• Wallet System: Each user gets a wallet with a virtual account number for easy funding.
• Partnerships: Revenue comes primarily from commissions via telecom operators and utility providers.

Security-wise, Tellar leans on Meta’s built-in fraud prevention systems for WhatsApp, alongside its own in-house alerts to flag suspicious activity.

What makes Tellar stand out from traditional mobile banking apps and fintech utilities is its utility-first focus. While most fintechs prioritise transfers, savings, or lending, Tellar zeroes in on daily essentials like data, airtime, and electricity. The experience is deliberately low-friction; users don’t need to download or learn a new app. If you can use WhatsApp, you can use Tellar. On top of that, payment feels conversational, more like chatting with a friend than navigating a clunky interface. Unsurprisingly, data purchases dominate the platform’s activity, a reminder that internet access remains one of the most pressing needs across Africa. 

The biggest hurdle early on was convincing people to trust an AI-powered WhatsApp service with their payments. “At first, people were skeptical,” Robert admits. “But word-of-mouth referrals from users who had smooth experiences helped build trust.” That grassroots adoption strategy has been central to Tellar’s traction so far.

Looking ahead, the company’s short-term goal is clear: scale aggressively across Africa. A standalone mobile app is scheduled to launch before the end of the year, and there are plans to expand into Messenger and Snapchat to build on its chat-first model. Tellar is also experimenting with features like Data Dial, which allows users to call a number and instantly receive a data top-up. Unlike many fintechs chasing lending or cross-border transfers, Tellar intends to remain laser-focused on utilities, though Robert hints at a separate project in the works for international payments.

His long-term vision is ambitious: to become a pan-African utility hub with millions of daily users and transaction volumes into the billions. For him, success isn’t just about revenue but about solving a very real, very everyday problem. “If Tellar didn’t exist, people would still be struggling with simple things like getting data,” he says. “Our job is to remove that friction.”

Since launching in April 2024 with 1,500 signups and processing an estimated ₦5–7 million so far, Tellar has found its strongest traction among students and SMEs, with data purchases far outpacing airtime and electricity. Robert’s hope is that one day, Tellar will be serving millions of users every day across Africa, making it as easy to buy data or electricity as it is to send a WhatsApp message.