The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) has been given the power to grant licenses to payment system operators under National Payment System Proclamation No 718/2011 and its Amendment Proclamation No 1282/2023. Article 6(8) of the Amendment Proclamation, for instance, provides that ‘ foreign nationals and Ethiopian organizations fully owned by foreign nationals shall engage in a payment instrument issuer and/or payment system operator business through raising capital fully paid in foreign currency’. Upon satisfaction by a full and complete application process, the NBE shall grant license or authorization for operating the payment system. Following these Proclamations, on May 11,2023, the NBE announced the granting of a payment instrument issuer license to a foreign investor, the first of its kind. The license is given to Safaricom M-Pesa Mobile Financial Services Private Limited Company. This company is a subsidiary of Safaricom Telecommunication Ethiopia Private Limited Company.
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