Fintech & payments regulation in Ethiopia (2026)

At the second Ethiopia Digital Payment Conference (EDPC 2.0), the NBE launched its second National Digital Payments Strategy (2026-2030) — branded BRIDGE 2030 — alongside EthioPay, a new EthSwitch-built national instant payment system enabling real-time interbank transfers, QR payments, and cross-border settlement. The strategy targets 139-million-plus mobile money accounts and sets universal interoperability as a mandate.

Safaricom M-Pesa Ethiopia introduced a telco-agnostic mobile money platform allowing any SIM card holder — regardless of carrier — to register using the national Fayda digital ID eKYC system, directly challenging Telebirr's state-backed dominance and deepening competition following the 2023 foreign operator licensing reform.

The National Bank of Ethiopia issued a directive compelling all federal government institutions to accept electronic payments from every NBE-licensed provider, ending the de facto state preference for Telebirr in public services and institutionalising payment interoperability across government channels.

The National Bank of Ethiopia's amended Payment Instrument Issuer directive (ONPS/10/2025) raised minimum paid-up capital for e-money issuers from ETB 50 million to ETB 100 million, lifted daily transaction limits to ETB 300,000 and balance caps to ETB 150,000, imposed senior-executive experience requirements, and required full compliance from existing licence holders by June 2027.

Ethiopia's comprehensive new Banking Business Proclamation introduced a dedicated digital banking licence enabling banks to operate without physical branches, codified the NBE's regulatory sandbox mandate (alongside NBE Proclamation No. 1359/2025), permitted foreign bank participation for the first time, and established a bank-resolution and depositor-protection framework.

The National Bank of Ethiopia issued a mobile money transfer licence to Safaricom M-Pesa Mobile Financial Service Plc — a Safaricom Ethiopia subsidiary — making it the first foreign entity ever licensed to issue payment instruments in Ethiopia, a direct result of the December 2022 NPS amendment and requiring a foreign investor capital deposit of USD 150 million.

After presidential signature and Federal Negarit Gazeta publication, the National Payment System Amendment Proclamation became legally operative, formally establishing NBE licensing requirements for all payment instrument issuers and payment system operators, and opening the sector to foreign investment for the first time.

Ethiopia's House of Peoples' Representatives ratified the National Payment System (Amendment) Proclamation — the most significant reform to the 2011 payment law — allowing foreign companies to own and operate payment instrument issuers, unlocking competition in a market previously reserved for domestic entities.

Ethiopia's Council of Ministers-approved first National Digital Payments Strategy (NDPS) was formally launched in Addis Ababa in partnership with the UN Better Than Cash Alliance, setting a four-year roadmap to build interoperable infrastructure, accelerate financial inclusion, and grow digital payment volumes — a framework that drove mobile money accounts from under 1 million to over 128 million by 2024.

State-owned Ethiotelecom launched Telebirr — Ethiopia's first non-bank mobile money service — after the NBE granted the country's first payment instrument licence to a non-bank entity; one million users registered within six days, and Telebirr went on to become the dominant platform with over 40 million users by 2023.

EthSwitch S.C. — the NBE-supervised national payment switch incorporated in 2011 — went live, enabling for the first time cross-bank ATM and POS interoperability across all Ethiopian commercial banks and providing the shared settlement infrastructure that underpins every subsequent digital payment initiative.

Ethiopia's foundational payment-system law vested the National Bank of Ethiopia with sole authority to license, regulate, and oversee all payment systems and payment instrument issuers; introduced the Ethiopian Automated Transfer System (RTGS and ACH); and established the legal basis for e-money and the national switch — the cornerstone of the entire current fintech licensing framework.