Addis Pay Caps Three Year Fintech Journey with a Nod from Ethiopia’s Central Bank

Nearly three years after being licensed by the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), Addispay Financial Technology S.C has received a final greenlight for a commercial payment gateway. The payment operator can now commence interoperable digital payments, facilitate e-commerce and remittance services through integrations with financial institutions.

Established in February 2022 with a capital of 50 million birr, the Company has a paid-up capital of over 25 million birr. Addispay has already integrated with tele birr, M-Pesa, Awash Birr, and CBE birr alongside international payment systems such as VISA and MasterCard. 

Bruke Gebreyes, CEO and Co-founder of the Company, says the central bank assessed their performance during the pilot phase and cleared them for operation.

“Even though it took a little over two years, we have finally received our commercialization license,” he told Shega.

AddisPay's transition from a pilot phase to a commercial license follows two years of work to meet regulatory requirements. This involves meeting strict regulatory demands from the National Bank of Ethiopia, including addressing pilot feedback, submitting detailed business and financial plans, and demonstrating operational readiness. NBE’s licensing requirement also outlines a paid-up capital of 50 million birr.

“We also had to meet transaction value requirements, maintain a minimum capital, and pass a final NBE inspection,” Bruke added. According to him, they have processed 8 million Birr in 11,000 transactions before receiving the commercialization license.

The NBE has issued commercialization licenses to 13 fintech firms since 2014, including national payment switch operator EthSwitch, which pioneered interoperability in 2022. Despite the onslaught of licenses, not all operators manage to survive after receiving an initial nod from the central bank. Back in September, Sunpay Solutions, which was one of the first to receive a fintech license, had its permit revoked by the Central Bank for failing to meet several requirements. Furthermore, the belated introduction of national QR code standards proliferated the market with several types of Pos machines clogging up entry for budding payment operators

Addis Pay’s permit arrives as Ethiopia’s digital payments sector continues an accelerated growth trajectory, which saw digital payments overtake traditional transactions in several major banks. The founders look to become a mainstay in the country’s budding digital ecosystem as they embark on a new chapter with fresh permits.