Digital partnership between Ethiopian Airlines and Abay Bank to facilitate ticket purchasing

By Ruth Brook
A new digital payment option has been made available for Ethiopian Airlines passengers after a recent partnership between the airline and Abay Bank. The enhanced payment method allows customers to purchase tickets on the Ethiopian Airlines app using mobile banking with Abay Bank, adding to the existing digital payment options on the Airlines’ e-commerce platform.
This partnership aims to catalyze and facilitate the ticket purchasing process for customers; cutting out the middle man, customers can purchase their tickets on the Ethiopian Airlines app at their leisure using the Bank’s mobile banking service code *812# or at any Abay Bank branch offices.
Although inaugurated on December 31st 2019, the partnership has been operational for one week, already seeing 1 million birr worth of tickets purchased in that time, explained Belete Dagnew, Vice President of Abay Bank, Corporate Service.
The recent union of the two companies’ ties in with Abay Bank’s vision of continuous investment in their banking services. Given the technology age, Abay Bank have invested 150 million birr in expanding their core banking system, which will be realized in the coming 6 months said the Vice President.
Abay Bank customers also have the option of paying their post-paid phone bills as well as water and electricity bills using the bank’s online services. Digital banking users make up 38% of Abay Bank’s customers, totaling 250,000 users.
The user friendly airline app accounts for 44% of the airlines domestic online sales, it was revealed in an Ethiopian Airlines press release. The app offers 6 international and 13 local payment options and is available in 3 local languages, Amharic, Afan Oromo and Tigrinya.