Payment System Operator (Switch Operator) — Ethiopia
The Ethiopia category mapped to payment switching.
Regulator: National Bank of Ethiopia.
NBE Payment System Operator licence for switch operators - the national switch operator (Art. 4.7(a)) and other switch operators (Art. 4.7(b)) under the Licensing and Authorization of Payment System Operators Directive No. ONPS/02/2020. Switches route and clear transactions between participants without holding customer float; the per-entity register label ('National Switch Operator' / 'Switch Operator') is kept on each fact. Modelled as a distinct category from the POS/gateway operators so a 'who can operate a payment switch in Ethiopia' answer returns only the switch operators (an Afriset mapping judgment; the register keeps switches and gateways under one 'Payment System Operator' statutory licence).
Maintained: this official source is re-checked on a weekly schedule — last checked 2026-08-04 · changed 2026-08-04.
Licensed providers
2 entities| # | Provider | Status (as reported) | Licensed / granted | Source | Source date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ethswitch S.C | licensed | 2014-12-25 | National Bank of Ethiopia | not dated |
| 2 | Premier Switch Solution S.C | licensed | 2013-02-15 | National Bank of Ethiopia | not dated |
Reading the tables
- not dated
- — the official source publishes no date of its own. We show our own last-checked date instead of inventing one for the regulator.
Licence requirements
What it takes to hold this licence, as stated in the cited official instruments. Capital and fees are shown in the currency the statute itself uses.
| Requirement | As published | Source | Source date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum capital | ETB 300 million (three hundred million Birr) for a national switch operator; ETB 40 million (forty million Birr) for a switch operator (the sum of the relevant tiers if the applicant operates two or more systems). Verbatim“An applicant intending to be licensed as payment system operator shall have a paid up capital of not less than: a) ETB 300 million (three hundred million Birr) if it is the national switch operator; b) ETB 40 million (forty million Birr) if it is a switch operator; … f) the sum of a paid up capital stated hereinabove under each operator if an applicant intends to be licensed to operate two or more of the payment systems.” | Licensing and Authorization of Payment System Operators Directive No. ONPS/02/2020 (operative PSO base) | 2020 |
| Local presence / incorporation | Must be established as a company, with a certificate of registration for the trade name and articles and memorandum of association prepared in both Amharic and English. Verbatim“be established as a company … submit articles and memorandum of association prepared both in Amharic and English.” | Licensing and Authorization of Payment System Operators Directive No. ONPS/02/2020 (operative PSO base) | 2020 |
| Timeline | Not officially published: No fixed number of days within which the National Bank must grant or refuse a payment-system-operator application is published in this directive. | Licensing and Authorization of Payment System Operators Directive No. ONPS/02/2020 (operative PSO base) | 2020 |
| Local ownership | The national switch operator may only be owned by financial institutions and the National Bank, and any institutional shareholder other than the National Bank is limited to 5%; for other switch operators, ownership by any one person is limited to 40%. Verbatim“have ownership by a person limited to 40%, if it is other than national switch operator … only be owned by financial institutions and the National Bank, if it is the national switch operator … have ownership by an institutional shareholder other than National Bank limited to 5% (five percent), if it is the national switch operator.” | Licensing and Authorization of Payment System Operators Directive No. ONPS/02/2020 (operative PSO base) | 2020 |
| Fees | ETB 3,000 (three thousand Birr) non-refundable application processing fee. Verbatim“An applicant shall pay a non-refundable application processing fee of ETB 3,000 (three thousand Birr) and present proof of payment together with the applications.” | Licensing and Authorization of Payment System Operators Directive No. ONPS/02/2020 (operative PSO base) | 2020 |
| Ongoing obligations | Not officially published: Operate under system rules approved by the National Bank; the ownership and shareholding conditions above are continuing. No single quantitative ongoing-obligation figure is published. | Licensing and Authorization of Payment System Operators Directive No. ONPS/02/2020 (operative PSO base) | 2020 |
Requirements as published in the cited instruments — not legal or compliance advice. 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.
The equivalent in other markets
Categories mapped to the same normalized activity —
fintech:SWITCHING:
- → Switching & Processing Licence Category (Nigeria)
- → To own, possess, operate, manage or control infrastructure for the provision of payment services (Kenya)
- → System Operator (South Africa)
- → Switching Service Provider (Tanzania)
- → Payment System Operator (Uganda)
- → Payment System Operator (Zambia)
- → Payment System Operators (Rwanda)
- → Card switching / national payment switch (Zimbabwe)
- → Opérateur de système de paiement monétique agréé (DR Congo)
- → Payment System Operator (Namibia)
- → Payment System Operator (Malawi)