The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) has taken a significant step in regulating the mobile money industry by issuing a revised Payment Instrument Issuer Directive. This directive, following the amendment of the Payment Systems Proclamation, introduces a set of new regulations and changes. Notable updates include detailed requirements for foreign mobile money service providers in accordance with the National Payment System Proclamation (amendment) No.1282/2023.
Additionally, the daily electronic account balance limit has been raised from Birr 30,000 to Birr 75,000, while a new daily aggregate transaction limit of Birr 150,000 has been introduced to adapt to market developments, with exceptions made for specific transactions such as utility, tax, airline ticket, fuel, and bulk payments.
The directive also empowers mobile money service providers to offer supplementary services like capital market products and allows banks to establish subsidiaries dedicated to mobile money services.
