Country guides

Launching mobile money in Ethiopia

Ethiopia opened its payments market in recent years and mobile money is growing fast. The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) licenses payment instrument issuers.

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Most of the population still uses cash. Agents, USSD and simple apps in Amharic and other local languages are the way to reach customers outside Addis Ababa.

Banks and MFIs have large customer bases and can bring them onto wallets under their own name.

The rules in brief

Regulator: National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE)
Main texts: National Payment System Proclamation and NBE directives on payment instrument issuers
Licence routes: Payment instrument issuer licence; or a partner bank
Minimum capital: Set by the NBE directives: confirm the current amount with the NBE
Interoperability: EthSwitch, the national switch
KYC and limits: Tiered KYC with limits set by the NBE
Currency: Ethiopian birr (ETB)

Summary of published texts, checked on 2026-10-16. Rules change: confirm the current text with the regulator or your lawyer before you apply.

Payment rails to connect

Mobile money: 3 main providers
Banks via the national switch

Launching with PesaBridge, step by step

Choose your licence route: your own licence, a partner bank or e-money issuer, or a licensed aggregator.

Build your proposal online: countries, payment rails and plan, in 10 minutes.

We set up the platform, your brand and the payment rails while you finish the licence file.

Test with a pilot group of customers, agents and merchants, and with the regulator where required.

Go live, recruit agents and merchants, and add services and countries as you grow.

Inside the product

One platform behind every launch.

Every country launch runs on the same wallet app and back office, set up for your currency, rails and languages.

Questions

Can the apps run in Amharic?

Yes. The apps run in Amharic and English, and other languages can be added.

Can a bank or MFI launch its own wallet?

Yes. PesaBridge runs the wallet, agents and merchants and connects to the bank's or MFI's core system.

Can we connect to EthSwitch?

Yes. EthSwitch is one more rail; we build the connection once you are a participant.

National Bank of Ethiopia: payment system directives

Get a proposal for Ethiopia

Pick Ethiopia in the proposal builder and get your price, plan and timeline in 10 minutes.

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