Ethiopia’s national switch operator, EthSwitch, on Thursday evening unveiled a long-awaited overhaul of the country’s payment rails, officially launching an interoperable instant payment system known as EthioPay at Friendship Park in Addis Ababa. The payment infrastructure was first announced last week during the second national digital payment conference.
Developed over two years, the system enables same-day settlement for interbank transfers, replacing the Real Time Gross Settlement platform, which has long drawn criticism from banks and businesses for delays that constrained liquidity across the financial system.
Yelebes Addis, EthSwitch’s chief executive, said the launch would mark a turning point for Ethiopia’s payment ecosystem, which has leaned heavily on person-to-person transfers even for merchant transactions. EthioPay, he said, introduces structured payment channels designed for a broader and more complex economy.
Among the new capabilities are bulk payments, customer-to-government transactions, request-to-pay functions, QR-based payments, interoperable merchant dashboards, and expanded tools for e-commerce platforms.
“A shared payment infrastructure reduces costs while improving services,” Yelebes said. “We expect banks to reduce additional charges.”
No Comment Found.