# Clickatell

> Clickatell is a chat commerce and messaging platform that helps brands talk to and transact with customers across SMS, WhatsApp and other channels. Founded in 2000 in Cape Town, it was the first company to wire businesses on the internet to consumers on mobile phones using SMS in four lines of code. Twenty-five years later it powers chat banking, tokenized WhatsApp payments and Chat-2-Pay with Visa for over 10,000 customers worldwide.

- **Founded:** 2000
- **Headquarters:** Redwood City, California, United States
- **Founders:** Pieter de Villiers (Co-Founder & CEO), Casper de Villiers (Co-Founder), Danie du Toit (Co-Founder), Patrick Lawson (Co-Founder)
- **Team size:** ~300
- **Products:** Chat Commerce Platform, SMS API & Gateway, Chat-2-Pay with Visa, Chat Banking, Chat Desk
- **Notable:** First business-to-consumer SMS gateway on the internet (2000)., First tokenized payments inside WhatsApp., Launched KYC-compliant chat banking with multiple emerging-market banks.

## Products & services

- **Chat Commerce Platform** — An end-to-end suite letting brands market, support and take payments inside WhatsApp, SMS and other chat channels.
- **SMS API & Gateway** — The original product - a developer-friendly SMS gateway reaching 960 mobile operators across 220+ countries.
- **Chat-2-Pay with Visa** — A tokenized payment experience that lets shoppers complete a Visa transaction inside a chat message.
- **Chat Banking** — KYC-compliant banking flows - balance checks, transfers, loans - delivered through WhatsApp.
- **Chat Desk** — Agent inbox and supervisor tools for serving customers across messaging channels.
- **Campaign Manager & Broadcast Messenger** — Marketing tools for two-way chat campaigns and bulk outbound messaging.

## Achievements

- First business-to-consumer SMS gateway on the internet (2000).
- First tokenized payments inside WhatsApp.
- Launched KYC-compliant chat banking with multiple emerging-market banks.
- Raised an oversubscribed $91M Series C in 2022.
- Reaches 960 mobile operators across 220+ countries and territories.
- Celebrated 25 years in 2025 - rare longevity for an African tech company.

## Latest updates

- **2025-10** — Marked 25th anniversary and announced a pivot toward agentic commerce - AI agents that complete tasks inside chat threads.
- **2022-02** — Closed $91M Series C led by Arrowroot Capital to fund US expansion.

## Links

- Website: https://clickatell.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/clickatell
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/Clickatell
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Clickatell
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/Clickatell-187073743959

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/clickatell
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-15