Ethiopia’s Central Bank Greenlights Five Independent Foreign Exchange Bureaus

Ethiopia’s central bank has licensed five non-bank foreign exchange bureaus, marking a significant milestone in the country’s recent macroeconomic reform. Dugda Fidelity Investment Plc, with renowned business tycoon Getu Gelete as a significant shareholder, Ethio Independent, Global Independent, Robust Independent, and Yoga Forex Bureau received the regulatory green light.

While these independent Bureau’s are limited to conducting spot transactions (immediate), they can buy currency notes of up to 10,000 dollars without a Customs Commission declaration. The forex bureaus are also allowed to sell foreign currency of up to 5,000 dollars for individual travelers with the necessary documents and up to 10,000 dollars for business ones. 

The FX bureaus are required to prominently display their buying and selling rates to customers as a means of ensuring transparency. Customers have the right to request receipts for their transactions. 

The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) removed foreign currency restrictions back in July as the country shifted into a market-based exchange regime as part of broad macroeconomic reforms. NBE’s green foreign exchange directive requires prospective nonbank FX bureaus to have a minimum capital of 15 million birr and double the amount as a security deposit.

Ethiopia's shift to a market-based foreign exchange regime has resulted in the depreciation of the birr by above 100% from nearly 57 birr two months ago.