Ethiopia has launched the country’s first domestically issued credit card.
Developed through a partnership between Sanupay and OpenWay, this card also reflects Ethiopia’s efforts to shift towards more traditional digital payment tools.
The credit card will operate on Ethiopia’s national payment system, ensuring full interoperability between banks and POS systems.
Although mobile payment options are widespread in the country, credit card usage remains quite rare. However, with this new credit card, customers will be able to easily make transactions at both POS terminals and ATMs.
Sanupay, one of the key players behind the project, will manage both card issuance and transaction infrastructure by utilizing OpenWay’s Way4 platform.
As part of the initiative, Sanupay plans to roll out 4 million debit and prepaid cards, 5,000 Visa and Mastercard credit cards, 10,000 POS terminals, and 200 ATMs across the country.
Regionally speaking, Ethiopia’s financial system has largely remained cash-based.
However, this new solution is expected to gradually close the gap and contribute to building a more inclusive digital payment infrastructure.