EthSwitch Achieves 97% Profit Surge Amid Digital Payment Expansion

EthSwitch S.C., Ethiopia’s national payment switch, has reported notable growth in revenue, operations, and project implementation for the 2023/2024 financial year.

Chairman Solomon Desta announced the completion of the fourth year of the company’s strategic master plan, which has expanded its digital financial services. To enhance its financial capacity, EthSwitch issued new shares, raising its paid-up capital to ETB 1.79 billion.

For the fiscal year 2024, EthSwitch reported a net profit before tax of ETB 1.06 billion, a 97% increase from the previous year. The company processed a total of ETB 123.2 billion through ATM services, reflecting a 32% increase. Point-of-sale (POS) transactions reached ETB 5.7 billion, a 125% increase, while peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers surged by 251%, totaling ETB 270.7 billion across 49.69 million transactions.

Solomon outlined several key project achievements, including the successful implementation of the Instant Payment System (IPS) and the National Payment Gateway, which completed its trial phase and was officially launched in May 2024. The Shared Wallet Platform also finished its trial with banks. Additionally, EthSwitch standardized the Ethiopay Dual Interface/Contactless payment card system, receiving approval from the Ethiopian Standards Authority.

Over the past fiscal year, EthSwitch collaborated with the National Bank of Ethiopia to develop a proposal for interoperable QR code-based digital payments, aimed at modernizing Ethiopia’s payment ecosystem.

Looking ahead, the company plans to enhance service quality, upgrade its infrastructure, complete ongoing projects, and strengthen international and cross-border payment cooperation.