Draft - National Digital Payments Strategy (2026–2030)
BRIDGE 2030
Building an inclusive digital payments future
Ethiopia’s first National Digital Payments Strategy (2021–2024) accelerated the transition to a modern, interoperable, and increasingly cash-lite economy. NDPS 2.0 builds on this momentum with a five-year framework for national development.
BRIDGE 2030 envisions an innovative, trusted, integrated, and inclusive digital payments ecosystem that connects all Ethiopians to opportunity.
VISION OF BRIDGE 2030
- Building Robust & Interoperable Infrastructure
- Reaching All Ethiopians
- Increasing Adoption & Deepening Usage
- Developing Human Capacity
- Galvanizing Trust & Resilience
- Enabling Innovation Beyond Payments
ACHIEVEMENTS OF NDPS 1.0 (2021–2024)
Ethiopia’s digital payments ecosystem underwent landmark transformation under the previous strategy:
Rapid Digital Account Growth
- Mobile money accounts grew from 12.2 million (2020) to 139.5 million (2025).
- Mobile banking accounts increased from 9.1 million to 54 million.
Explosive Growth in Transaction Volumes
Annual transaction volumes grew at 146% CAGR and values at 161% CAGR.
Regulatory Modernization
- Proclamation No. 1282/2023 opened entry to foreign providers.
- Licensing directives updated to support non-bank entities and interoperability.
WHY NDPS 2.0 IS NEEDED
Despite progress, significant gaps remain. NDPS 2.0 addresses the sector’s most pressing challenges:
- Rising fraud and security threats undermine user trust.
- Low digital literacy: 66% of women and 60% of men lack mobile-money skills.
- Weak merchant acceptance limits usage.
- A 24-percentage-point rural–urban usage gap persists.
- Gender gap remains at 10 points.
- Innovation limited by lack of data-sharing frameworks.
- Only 15% of accounts and 25% of agents are active.
- Cross-border payments remain limited.
- Government payment systems remain fragmented.
NDPS 2.0 responds with a holistic, future-focused framework.
- Enhance national, real-time digital payment infrastructure.
- Enable secure, affordable cross-border payments.
- Strengthen progressive data exchange mechanisms.
- Promote shared infrastructure and reduce duplication.
- Design inclusive products to reduce gender gaps.
- Expand connectivity across rural areas.
- Prioritize accessibility for underserved groups.
- Digitize high-frequency payment flows.
- Strengthen merchant acceptance networks.
- Improve user experience and value propositions.
- Build nationwide financial literacy programs.
- Strengthen regulatory and supervisory skills.
- Equip workforce for AI, cybersecurity, and digital innovation.
- Enhance digital security frameworks.
- Strengthen supervision and oversight.
- Improve consumer protection standards.
- Support fintech ecosystems and startups.
- Encourage competition and new market entrants.
- Enable development of innovative digital services.
DRAFT - NATIONAL DIGITAL PAYMENT STRATEGY 2.0, 2026-2030(NDPS 2.0)
THE OFFICIAL DRAFT OF ETHIOPIA’S NATIONAL DIGITAL PAYMENTS STRATEGY (NDPS 2.0) WILL BE LAUNCHED AT THE ETHIOPIA DIGITAL PAYMENT CONFERENCE (EDPC) 2.0.
