Fintech & digital payments rules in Ethiopia (2026)

The National Payment System Proclamation No. 718/2011, amended by Proclamation No. 1282/2023, makes the National Bank of Ethiopia the sole authority for licensing/authorising payment instrument issuers and payment system operators; the amendment also opened the sector to foreign investment.

Mobile money and e-wallet providers (e.g. M-Birr, HelloCash, CBE-Birr, Telebirr) are licensed as Payment Instrument Issuers under Directive ONPS/01/2020, now amended by Directive No. NPS/10/2025; issuers may offer cash-in/out, transfers, domestic payments, bill payment and inbound remittances, plus micro-credit/savings/insurance with NBE approval.

Directive No. NPS/10/2025 (in force from 12 May 2025) raises minimum paid-up capital to ETB 100 million (existing holders must comply by June 2027), sets daily e-money transaction limits of ETB 300,000 / balance ETB 150,000, and imposes executive-experience requirements on issuers.

A separate licensing/authorisation track exists for Payment System Operators (switches, gateways, processors) under the same proclamation and NBE's Payment System Operators Directive, distinct from instrument issuers.

EthSwitch (the national switch, co-owned by NBE and banks) operates EthioPay, the National Instant Payment System, supporting real-time account-to-account and wallet-to-wallet transfers, QR and alias-based payments; the 2025 directive mandates interoperability among mobile money wallets and participation in the instant-payment system.

There is no dedicated open-banking mandate or standalone BNPL regulation in Ethiopia; BNPL and similar credit offerings would fall under general payment/credit and micro-credit provisions subject to NBE approval rather than a bespoke framework.