ADDIS ABABA – The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) says today it has issued a mobile money service license to Safaricom M-Pesa Mobile Financial Service Plc, a subsidiary of Safaricom Telecommunication Ethiopia Plc.
This is the first mobile money license granted to a foreign investor in Ethiopia.
The central bank, the issuance of the mobile money license reflects the NBE’s ongoing objective of fostering financial innovation and inclusion in the Ethiopian market.
With NBE support, the menu of digital finance offerings including mobile banking, mobile wallets, internet banking, and card banking has expanded rapidly in recent years, showing the strong underlying public demand for the use of such services.
“We welcome this shift to the use of digital financial services so as to bring greater efficiency, safety, and transparency to the country’s rapidly growing financial system,” said the Central Bank
Looking ahead, the NBE said, it will continue to take measures to deepen Ethiopia’s digital finance ecosystem.
“To this end, we will strongly support the spread of digital payment systems as a substitute for cash-based transactions within the economy,” the NBE said.
The central bank further stated that it will welcome the introduction of diverse forms of digital financial services. “So that, ultimately, these become a tool to help citizens transact, save, borrow, invest, and more as Ethiopia’s financial system is
modernized over the coming years,” the statement said.
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