Arifpay Partners with Visa, AVICOM to Roll Out 10,000 POS Terminals across Ethiopia

Arifpay Financial Technologies S.C. is set to deploy 10,000 new point-of-sale (POS) terminals to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Ethiopia, following two key partnership agreements signed today.

The digital payment provider, established with 270 million Birr in paid-up capital, secured financing from Visa for the terminal acquisitions and named AVICOM as the official hardware supplier for the initiative. The move aims to address the limited digital payment options for merchants outside of major cash-based operations.

The rollout targets a wide range of small businesses, including supermarkets, cafés, and pharmacies. The new Android terminals are designed to handle multiple payment forms on a single device, a significant step toward interoperability in a fragmented market. The terminals will accept local mobile wallets, domestic cards processed through EthSwitch, and international cards, including those from Visa.

This functionality could provide a notable boost to SMEs that currently struggle to serve international customers. For the first time, many smaller merchants will be able to accept payments from tourists and the Ethiopian diaspora, potentially opening a new revenue stream.

Beyond payment processing, the terminals will offer merchants digital tools for receipting, sales tracking, and remote management via Arifpay’s cloud system.

Rediet Tsigebirhan, CEO of Arifpay, said the partnerships provide "the key to unlock new opportunities and potential for thousands of businesses." He indicated that the company has expanded its portfolio to 13 services, including an e-commerce business.

"We will also go live as a private switch operator in January," Rediet noted.

The CEO recalled that POS innovation has remained limited in Ethiopia, which the company aims to change by including utility payments, tips, and bill splitting. Merchants using the POS machines will have wallet, card, cash payment, and QR functionalities all in one device, according to Rediet.

"There is ongoing engagement with banks to add embedded financing," he said.

Another key feature of the POS machines has to do with settlement, according to the CEO, with the new devices enabling same-day settlement, setting themselves apart from the 24-hour or T+1 offering widely available in the market.

"We are working on real-time settlement," he said.

Rediet lauded the partnership with Visa for helping scale Arifpay's two-year POS business, supported by 350 machines that processed around 388 million Birr.

According to the latest data from the national switch operator, EthSwitch, 2.78 million interoperable POS transactions worth 7.2 billion Birr were made in 2024/25, which was a 24% increase from the previous year.

Rediet also indicated that online payment functionalities can be facilitated through the company’s ArifShop, which allows merchants to set up their own digital stores. He said both services and products can be offered to customers via the free platform for merchants, while fractions will be charged in transaction fees.

"A merchant should not be bothered with handling all these payment channels when he/she can be handling their business," Rediet told Shega.

Arifpay's online e-commerce platform has been online for close to five months with up to 3 logistics companies working with the firm to facilitate last mile delivery.

Yared Endale, Visa's country manager for Ethiopia and head of Eastern Africa, described the financing as an investment in Ethiopia's "economic infrastructure," aimed at fostering financial inclusion and connecting local merchants to the global economy.

A representative from AVICOM confirmed the company's role as the hardware provider, stating they would supply "high-quality" terminals to serve as the "reliable backbone" for the Arifpay network.

The initiative marks a significant scaling effort for Arifpay, which was founded in 2021 and was initially licensed by the National Bank of Ethiopia for a pair of services.