For many Ethiopians, the most difficult part of making a legitimate payment across borders has never been willingness. The process has involved numerous steps, extensive documentation, and countless dead ends. In a world where education, healthcare, work, and commerce are increasingly connected to global services, the ability to pay reliably is not a luxury; it is an everyday need.
That is why the National Bank of Ethiopia’s latest directive matters. The directive’s stated intent is clear: relax foreign exchange administration to improve ease of doing business, support foreign exchange market development, and strengthen confidence in the reform journey. But the most important impact is not abstract policy language. It is what changes for families, entrepreneurs, students, and professionals when they need to make ordinary, legitimate transactions, especially through card payments.
International cards: a practical shift for Ethiopians
One of the most consequential changes is the liberalization of internationally recognized cards. Banks are now allowed to issue internationally recognized cards for all foreign exchange account holders and load foreign currency “as per the account holder’s instruction,” without travel visa and ticket requirements. This is a significant turning point for how Ethiopians can access card-based payments for international transactions. In practical terms, it reduces a major barrier that previously limited who could get an internationally usable card and under what circumstances.
This matters because cards are not simply a banking product; they are an access tool. They enable secure, widely accepted, and trackable payments, especially for online purchases and cross-border services, without relying on informal workarounds. When access expands through formal channels, households and businesses gain more predictability in how they pay, and the wider ecosystem gains more transparency and security.
“Everyday payments” now include the digital economy
Daily life today is hybrid meaning local lives, global services. Ethiopians increasingly pay for digital services that support learning, work, and entrepreneurship. These can include subscription-based platforms and e-commerce services that have become part of modern life. The ability to make such payments legitimately, using funds held in foreign exchange accounts, helps Ethiopian professionals and SMEs participate more competitively in the digital economy.
And this is not only about convenience. It is about productivity. When a freelancer can pay for the tools required to deliver work, or a small business can pay for software, online advertising, or cloud services, that capability can translate into income, employment, and economic activity at home.
Education and healthcare: easing pressure when time matters most
Few cross-border payments are as urgent, or as emotionally charged, as education and healthcare. The directive explicitly allows an FX account holder to use foreign service payments abroad for themselves, spouse, and children upon presentation of valid documents confirming relationship and underlying invoices. It also authorizes banks to allow advance payments for medical and education services up to USD 20,000 per case (or equivalent) without travel visa and ticket requirements, based on proof from the foreign entity and a customer application.
These provisions matter because the cost of delay is real. University deadlines do not move. Treatment schedules do not wait. Reducing friction and enabling advance payment within defined limits can help families act with greater certainty and speed, while still operating within formal, documented channels.
Broader access to FX accounts: expanding the base for formal payments
The directive also removes the minimum foreign currency requirement for opening an FX account, leaving the threshold for banks to decide. This may sound technical, but the implication is straightforward: potentially more Ethiopians and institutions can access the accounts that enable legitimate foreign payments in the first place. The directive further allows banks to open FX accounts for profit-making institutions receiving foreign currency from abroad through grants, gifts, and other sources (excluding export proceeds).
In payments, inclusion is not only about having a wallet—it is about having usable, reliable rails to complete legitimate transactions. Broader access to FX accounts can expand the pool of people and businesses that can pay through formal systems, which supports safety, consumer protection, and confidence.
Service exporters: supporting Ethiopia’s earning potential
Another major change is that service exporters are entitled to hold 100 percent of their export proceeds in an FX retention account for indefinite periods. The directive’s definition of service exports is broad, including sectors such as tourism, transport, engineering, business and financial services, telecommunications services, consulting, royalties, and other FX-generating services.
This is meaningful because service exports are increasingly tied to Ethiopia’s modern workforce and entrepreneurial growth. When exporters can retain FX longer and more predictably, they can better manage legitimate cross-border expenses that support their ability to earn—such as tools, platforms, and services required to deliver export-quality work.
What this means for Ethiopians—and the role of Visa
For Ethiopians, the direction is clear: the reform reduces barriers to legitimate cross-border payments and expands the practicality of card usage tied to FX accounts. For Visa, this is an opportunity to work with Ethiopian banks to ensure that expanded access translates into real consumer value: clear customer journeys, responsible product design, strong education on safe usage, and a continued focus on secure, compliant payments.
Reform becomes real when it reaches ordinary transactions—when people can pay for education, healthcare, services, and commerce without unnecessary friction. By easing constraints and widening legitimate access, Ethiopia is taking a practical step toward a payments environment where more citizens and businesses spend less time navigating process, and more time building, learning, trading, and living.
Yared Endale is Country Manager, Visa Ethiopia and General Manager, Visa Eastern Africa
