What does it take to get an e-money licence in Ethiopia?
To hold an e-money licence in Ethiopia, you need the Payment Instrument Issuer licence from National Bank of Ethiopia. Published minimum capital: Birr 50,000,000 (fifty million birr) paid-up, contributed in cash and deposited in a blocked account with a bank in the name of the issuer under formation; a foreign national pays it in foreign currency. 6 entities currently hold an e-money licence in Ethiopia. Full requirements — minimum capital, local presence, timeline, local ownership, fees and ongoing obligations — are set out below in each instrument's own words, with source and date; amounts are in the statute's own currency.
“E-money issuance” here is the normalized activity: Issue stored-value / electronic money redeemable at par and hold the customer float. The category of licence that lets a provider keep customers' money.
Activity id (as used by the Afriset MCP): fintech:EMONEY_ISSUE
Payment Instrument Issuer
National Bank of Ethiopia| Requirement | As published | Source | Source date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum capital | Birr 50,000,000 (fifty million birr) paid-up, contributed in cash and deposited in a blocked account with a bank in the name of the issuer under formation; a foreign national pays it in foreign currency. Verbatim“A minimum paid-up capital of Birr 50,000,000 (fifty million birr) or equivalent in foreign currency shall be contributed in cash and the amount shall be deposited in a blocked account with a bank in the name of the payment instrument issuer under formation.” | Licensing and Authorization of Payment Instrument Issuers Directive No. ONPS/09/2023 (operative PII base; repeals ONPS/01/2020, 03/2021, 06/2022) | 2023-10-06 |
| Local presence / incorporation | A company formed in Ethiopia (or an eligible subsidiary of a telecom operator, payment instrument issuer, payment system operator or bank incorporated under Ethiopian law), with a memorandum of association in Amharic and English approved by the National Bank before registration. Verbatim“the subsidiary shall be incorporated and registered in accordance with relevant laws of the country … a memorandum of association written both in Amharic and English. The memorandum of association shall be approved by the National Bank before registration with the appropriate government body.” | Licensing and Authorization of Payment Instrument Issuers Directive No. ONPS/09/2023 (operative PII base; repeals ONPS/01/2020, 03/2021, 06/2022) | 2023-10-06 |
| Timeline | Not officially published: No fixed number of days within which the National Bank must grant or refuse a payment-instrument-issuer application is published in this directive. | Licensing and Authorization of Payment Instrument Issuers Directive No. ONPS/09/2023 (operative PII base; repeals ONPS/01/2020, 03/2021, 06/2022) | 2023-10-06 |
| Local ownership | Not officially published: Foreign-national equity participation in a PII is governed by ONPS/04/2021 (a foreign national pays the minimum capital in foreign currency); this directive sets no general ownership-percentage cap for a payment-instrument issuer. | Licensing and Authorization of Payment Instrument Issuers Directive No. ONPS/09/2023 (operative PII base; repeals ONPS/01/2020, 03/2021, 06/2022) | 2023-10-06 |
| Fees | Not officially published: A foreign-national applicant pays an investment-protection fee to the government, but the amount is set by the National Bank from time to time and is not fixed in this directive. | Licensing and Authorization of Payment Instrument Issuers Directive No. ONPS/09/2023 (operative PII base; repeals ONPS/01/2020, 03/2021, 06/2022) | 2023-10-06 |
| Ongoing obligations | Not officially published: Operational policies and procedures approved by the National Bank; interoperability and instant-payment obligations were added by the ONPS/10/2025 amendment (definitions 33–37). No single quantitative ongoing-obligation figure is published. | Payment Instrument Issuer (Amendment) Directive No. ONPS/10/2025 (adds definitions 33–37 to Art. 2; interoperability + instant-payment obligations) | 2025-05 |
Requirements as published in the cited instruments — not legal or compliance advice. Capital and fees are shown in the currency the statute itself uses. Where a value is located but not yet verified, we show that it exists but don't publish the figure. Verify directly with the regulator.
Maintained: this official source is re-checked on a weekly schedule — last checked 2026-08-04 · unchanged since the previous check.
Who already holds this licence?
6 entities are on the National Bank of Ethiopia register under the Payment Instrument Issuer category — view the register .
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