Ethiopia has launched a state-controlled digital remittance network to safeguard its critical foreign exchange inflows from international sanctions and political pressures, breaking decades of reliance on Western-dominated payment systems.
The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), in partnership with local tech firm EagleLion System Technology, unveiled CBE Connect Digital Wallet — a national infrastructure designed to capture the full $35 billion in annual diaspora remittances currently lost to informal hawala channels. Currently, only 22 percent ($7.2 billion) flows through formal systems, leaving the rest smuggled and beyond government reach.
For decades, Ethiopia — like many developing nations — depended on high-fee international couriers and third-party remittance giants. Transfers faced days-long delays, 10 percent broker commissions and vulnerability to sudden banking bans or sanctions. CBE Connect aims to rewrite this equation.
“This is not just a new app but national infrastructure,” declared Besufekad Getachew, CEO of EagleLion System Technology, at the launch. “Ethiopia has built its own global remittance network — ensuring our financial lifelines cannot be blocked by foreign political actors.” [file:24 context]
The platform’s API Gateway allows global fintechs and remittance firms to connect to Ethiopia’s entire banking system within 1–2 days. Partner firms deposit funds into CBE accounts, instantly distributed to recipients across all 70+ million Ethiopian bank accounts — bypassing costly settlement intermediaries.
CBE Connect was developed through on-the-ground research in major Ethiopian diaspora hubs: Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the UAE. In South Africa, where migrants resort to cash smuggling for lack of legal channels, the wallet offers a secure digital alternative. In Saudi Arabia, direct partnerships with platforms like STC Pay enable Riyadh workers to send birr home in minutes via familiar apps.
A landmark policy shift came from the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), granting CBE Connect exclusive rights to offer Dollar Wallet services — previously illegal for individuals to hold foreign currency digitally. Users can now receive dollars/euros, convert to birr, and access home/car loans directly through diaspora-targeted services.
Ephraim Mekuria, CBE Executive Vice President for Corporate Banking, highlighted CBE Connect’s edge over existing wallets like CBE Birr and Telebirr: multi-currency transfers, forex services, Visa/Mastercard compatibility and interbank instant transfers. Future expansions target export LC payments, microfinance and merchant services.
By slashing fees and settlement delays, the platform incentivises formal channels over black-market hawala. EagleLion’s StarPay app, launched 16 January 2026, complements CBE Connect as a merchant payment solution.
CBE now acts as Ethiopia’s central payment rail, with pre-funded accounts eliminated and commissions collapsed. Diaspora senders save significantly, while Ethiopia gains billions in usable reserves to stabilise the birr, fund imports and ease forex shortages.
The sovereign wallet arrives amid global financial fragmentation — SWIFT exclusions, sanctions weaponisation and rising African pushback against dollar dominance. For Ethiopia, with its 130+ million population and vast diaspora, CBE Connect signals economic self-determination: remittances as national asset, not foreign vulnerability.
