The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) is to launch its first ever international mobile money transfer in partnership with WorldRemit. This will enable money senders spread across over 50 countries, most of which are expected to be Ethiopian diaspora, to make transfers to over 1.2 million “CBE wallets.” They will also be able to send money to any mobile number throughout Ethiopia.

Using this new money transfer scheme, CBE said customers can transfer money instantly and securely to over 20 million CBE accounts and 1,300 cash pickup locations.

Bacha Gina, CBE’s president, commenting on the new service, said, “We are proud to be a pioneering bank in modernizing Ethiopia’s payment systems. The various e-payment facilities deployed have enabled us to become the number one provider of technology-based banking services.”

Sharon Kinyanjui, Head of East and Central Africa at WorldRemit , for her part, noted, “We are delighted to partner with CBE, the leading bank in Ethiopia, to launch our first mobile money service to the country and expand our network of bank accounts and cash pickup locations.

She also added, “Our new strategic partnership will extend financial services to the unbanked population in Ethiopia, allowing currently underserved groups, including rural communities and low-income households, to receive money directly to their mobile phones.”

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, established in August 1942, is the largest bank in Ethiopia and one of the leading banks in Africa as well, with over a thousand branches.

WorldRemit is a globally renowned digital money transfer service provider. Transactions to Ethiopia via remit spiked by over 130 per cent in 2018 alone. This new mobile money transfer service is expected to offer the Ethiopian diaspora low cost and secure money transfer to the homeland, enabling registered CBE customers to receive the money in a single business day.

Source: Commercial Bank of Ethiopia