Payment methods in Ethiopia
Telebirr has grown from zero to 54.8 million users in four years, evolving into a "super app" for payments, government services, and e-commerce.
Market takeaways
- Telebirr has grown from zero to 54.8 million users in four years, evolving into a "super app" for payments, government services, and e-commerce.
- Digital transactions exceeded cash transactions in Ethiopia for the first time in the 2023/24 fiscal year.
- M-Pesa entered Ethiopia in 2023 via Safaricom (with ~2M early users), introducing competition.
- The National Bank of Ethiopia launched Phase Two of its National Digital Payments Strategy (2025–2029), targeting full interoperability and digital ID integration.
- Banking sector deposits grew from 1.04 trillion birr in 2020 to 3.55 trillion birr in 2025.
Population
~130M
Online population
~25M
Banked population
~45%
Mobile Money Penetration
~50% of adults (registered)
Credit card population
~1%
Payment method breakdown
- Cash55%
- Mobile Money35%
- Bank Transfer8%
- Card1%
- Other1%
Card scheme breakdown
- Visa60%
- Mastercard35%
- Local Schemes5%
- Other0%
Cross-border e-commerce
Market data coming soon.
Featured payment methods in Ethiopia
Popular options based on coverage and prominence in this market.
Kacha
Kacha is Ethiopia's first private sector mobile money operator, licensed by the National Bank of Ethiopia. It provides a regulated mobile wallet platform aimed at expanding financial inclusion, particularly for the underbanked population.
HelloCash
HelloCash is a digital payment platform offering mobile money services in Ethiopia, supporting P2P transfers, merchant payments, and bill payments. It operates through an agent network and mobile app.
M-Pesa
M-Pesa is Kenya's transformative mobile money service, launched by Safaricom in 2007. It enables users to send money, pay bills, buy goods, and access financial services via a basic mobile phone — no smartphone or bank account required. With over 30 million active users and 93% market share in Kenyan mobile money, M-Pesa is the default payment method for a large portion of the population and is deeply integrated into e-commerce via the Daraja API and third-party gateways like Flutterwave and Pesapal.
Telebirr
Telebirr is Ethiopia's dominant mobile money platform, launched in May 2021. It has evolved from basic P2P transfers into a super app handling bill payments, government fee collection, e-commerce, entertainment, and insurance. With 54.8 million users as of mid-2025, it is among Africa's fastest-growing mobile money services.
Featured banks in Ethiopia
Major institutions operating in this market.
Equity Bank Kenya
Nairobi, Kenya
Equity Bank is Kenya's largest bank by customer base (over 20 million), offering retail, SME, and corporate banking with operations across East Africa.
KCB Group Kenya
Nairobi, Kenya
KCB (Kenya Commercial Bank) Group is East Africa's largest bank by total assets, with operations in 7 East African countries.
Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE)
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
CBE (Commercial Bank of Ethiopia) is Ethiopia's largest bank by a vast margin, a state-owned institution with over 2,000 branches.
Other Banks — Ethiopia
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Aggregate of remaining banks in Ethiopia, collectively ~50.0% of domestic banking assets.
All banks in Ethiopia
Showing 4 of 4 banks
