Ethiopia is on the path to a cash-lite economy thanks to a new partnership between EthSwitch and Mastercard. The national payment switch, which is fully owned by banks in Ethiopia, will work with Mastercard to provide a faster, more secure digital payment solution for financial institutions in the country. The partnership will allow for the fast and secure transfer of funds both domestically and cross-border.
EthSwitch CEO Yilebes Addis said the partnership would play a critical role in advancing Ethiopia’s financial system and support the economy with an improved flow of remittances in the country. Customers will enjoy instant payout capabilities and secure transactions as they will be enabled to send and receive funds at any moment with the support of the partnership.
read also Ethiopia’s e-Payments Provider EthSwitch, Secures $2.33 million Grant from the AfDB
The partnership marks the second collaboration between the two entities in the last six months. In November of last year, the two institutions teamed up with Oromia Bank to provide all of the bank’s ATMs in Ethiopia to accept Mastercard debit, credit, and prepaid cards. EthSwitch officials believe that this latest partnership will give a boost to efforts to modernize the national payments system and enhance financial inclusion in the country.
Ethiopia is quickly moving into the digital economy, and EthSwitch is striving to achieve its strategic goals, which substantially contributes to the success of Digital Ethiopia 2025, National Digital Payments Strategy, and National Financial Inclusion Strategies. The partnership with Mastercard will help EthSwitch meet these goals and bring financial inclusion to the millions of Ethiopians who need it. Mastercard will provide advisory and technical support to advance EthSwitch’s digital-first strategy as per local and global best practices.
EthSwitch CEO Yilebes Addis called the partnership a significant step towards a modernized payment system, and Dimitrios Dosis, President of Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Mastercard, said that the partnership would facilitate digital remittances in the country, bringing financial inclusion to millions of Ethiopians. With the rapid increase in ATM usage in Ethiopia since its deployment in 2001, this partnership is an exciting development on the country’s journey towards becoming one of the most digitally connected countries in East Africa.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard