Ethiopia Introduces Its Homegrown Credit Card, a Collaboration with SanuPay and OpenWay
In a groundbreaking move, UAE-based fintech company SanuPay has partnered with OpenWay to launch Ethiopia's first domestic credit card. This significant step marks a transformative milestone in Ethiopia's financial sector, ushering in a modern, interoperable, and digitally enabled payment infrastructure that supports the country's shift towards a formalized cashless economy.
The collaboration will enable Ethiopian banks, starting with Oromia Bank, to issue credit cards that work domestically in local currency, seamlessly interoperating with ATMs and POS terminals nationwide. This move expands financial inclusion and offers more payment flexibility beyond the dominant mobile money services.
Powered by OpenWay's Way4 platform, the initiative supports the issuance of 4 million debit and prepaid cards, along with 5,000 Visa and Mastercard credit cards. Additionally, 10,000 POS terminals and 200 ATMs will be deployed, all operating on the same infrastructure. This infrastructure is backed by Ethiopia’s National Bank through its payment system operator SantimPay, ensuring secure, compliant, and efficient local transaction processing.
SantimPay, a licensed payment operator under the National Bank of Ethiopia, will handle secure local transaction switching. Oromia Bank will be the first to issue the domestic credit cards and plans a co-branded loyalty card with Sheba Miles.
Alfred Gachaga, CEO of SanuPay, expressed his excitement, stating that they have chosen the best-in-class solution to provide top-tier payment services in Ethiopia. Hermann Mike, Regional Director of OpenWay for Sub-Saharan Africa, noted that Way4 enables Ethiopia's first domestic credit card and lays the foundation for a modern, inclusive, and interoperable payments landscape.
OpenWay's Way4 platform, with 95% no-code configurability, has proven successful with Equity Bank and others in Africa. SanuPay also plans to support fintechs in Rwanda for virtual card issuance, tokenization, and mobile wallet integration.
The rollout is not limited to Ethiopia. SanuPay is working with entities in Kenya to modernize card processing, remittances, and cross-border payments. This move positions Ethiopia to join the digital payment revolution in East Africa and lays the foundation for a modern, inclusive, and interoperable payments landscape, expanding financial services beyond mobile money to include traditional credit card usage fully integrated domestically.
This launch marks a significant step towards a digitized financial ecosystem in East Africa, signalling a promising future for Ethiopia's financial sector and its citizens.
The partnership between SanuPay and OpenWay not only introduces Ethiopia's first domestic credit card but also brings a leap in technology for the country's business sector. As financial inclusion broadens and traditional credit card usage becomes fully integrated domestically, Ethiopia's finance landscape is transformed, paving the way for a modern, technology-driven business environment.
