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Ethiopia’s national payment switch EthSwitch, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mastercard that will enable financial institutions across Ethiopia to boost the adoption and usage of digital payments.
According Mastercard, by leveraging Mastercard Send, a payments platform that enables people and organizations to send and receive money instantly, domestically and cross-border, EthSwitch is able to continue to make digital money transfers more widely available and accessible.
It added that the advanced payment solution will deliver a simple and better user experience that will contribute towards the acceleration of Ethiopia’s transition to a cash-lite economy.
“Ethiopia is quickly moving into the digital economy and EthSwitch is striving to achieve its strategic goals, which substantially contributes for the success of Digital Ethiopia 2025, National Digital Payments Strategy and National Financial Inclusion Strategies,” says Yilebes Addis, Chief Executive Officer at EthSwitch.
Mastercard stated that with the new MoU Mastercard will partner with EthSwitch to enable transfer of funds through a mobile phone application thus pushing brick-and-mortar transfers out as consumers look for more convenient and contactless transfer options.
Additionally, Mastercard will provide advisory and technical support to advance EthSwitch’s digital-first strategy, in accordance with local and global best practices. Under the terms of the MoU, EthSwitch will leverage Mastercard’s technology, expertise, partnerships, and cyber intelligence solutions to diversify its payment capability beyond person-to-person payments.
“Mastercard recognizes that consumers today are looking for simple and secure financial products that add more value to their daily lives. Our partnership with EthSwitch supports our endeavor to facilitate digital remittances in this country, therefore bringing financial inclusion to the millions of Ethiopians who need it,” says Dimitrios Dosis, President of Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa at Mastercard.
The MoU aligns with Mastercard’s focus on localizing its solutions to address specific market needs and shows deep understanding of the dynamics of the banking ecosystem in Ethiopia. Mastercard has explained.
Ethswitch is the owner of Ethiopay-Ethiopia’s domestic card scheme which is developed for all banks in Ethiopia to issue and acquire payment cards.
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