Change money
Ethiopia uses the birr (ETB, Br). Change money only at banks, hotel exchange desks and licensed forex bureaus, starting at the airport bank counters. Since the birr was allowed to float in 2024, official bank rates are close to market rates, so there is little reason to use street exchangers, which are illegal.
Black-market exchange is strictly forbidden. Changing money on the street or through “parallel market” dealers, or sending money through unlicensed agents, is illegal in Ethiopia and punishable by law. Only change and send money through banks, licensed exchange bureaus and licensed money-transfer services.
Banks
Birr for 1 US dollar, checked on each bank's own website every morning at 8:00. Tap a bank to open its site.
Cooperative Bank of Oromia162.72 Br
Amhara Bank161.75 Br
Enat Bank161.47 Br
Bank of Abyssinia161.45 Br
Nib International Bank161.29 Br
Zemen Bank161.08 Br
Dashen Bank160.89 Br
Buying rate, 30 Oct.
Licensed exchange bureaus
Licensed by the National Bank. They don't publish rates online, so ask for the rate before you hand over cash and keep the receipt.
How to move your money
Use your foreign bank account or card to pay like a local, without carrying much cash.
- 1
Open a wallet
Get a local SIM, then register telebirr at an Ethio Telecom shop with your passport (or M-PESA, if a Safaricom shop will register you). Your phone number is your wallet number.
- 2
Sign up for a transfer app abroad
Create an account on telebirr Remit, Remitly or Taptap Send with your foreign bank card. CashGo and FastPayEt send to Ethiopian bank accounts.
- 3
Send money to your number
Enter your Ethiopian phone number and the amount. It arrives in your wallet in birr at the market rate, usually within minutes. You (or friends and family) can also top up your airtime from abroad.
- 4
Need cash? Use an ATM without a card
With M-PESA, choose Withdrawal, then Withdraw at ATM, and enter the amount to get a one-time code. At a Bank of Abyssinia or Awash Bank ATM, choose the cardless option and type the code. telebirr cash-out works at agents and Ethio Telecom shops.
- 5
Pay anyone
Scan a QR code, or choose transfer to a bank account or another wallet and enter the account or phone number of the person you're paying.
Bring money from abroad
If you need more birr, a friend or family member abroad (or you, from your own foreign bank account or card) can send money to an Ethiopian bank account or mobile wallet through a licensed transfer service. It arrives in birr at the market rate, sometimes with a small bonus, and it's fully legal.
CashGo
Pay with a Visa, Mastercard or Amex card; the receiver gets birr in their Ethiopian bank account.
FastPayEt
Card-funded transfers straight to Ethiopian bank accounts such as Bank of Abyssinia and Coopbank.
telebirr Remit
Ethio Telecom's own app for sending money from abroad into a telebirr wallet.
To Ethiopian bank accounts or straight into a telebirr wallet.
To CBE and Dashen bank accounts, or straight into telebirr or M-PESA wallets.
Send to an Ethiopian bank account, or for cash pickup at a bank branch.
To bank accounts such as CBE, or cash pickup.
Bank deposit or cash pickup across Ethiopia.
CBE Connect
If you already have a CBE account: top up a USD balance with your card, convert to birr and send to bank accounts.
Only use licensed services like these. Sending money through unlicensed agents ("hawala" or the parallel market) is illegal in Ethiopia.
Good to know
- Airport: bank counters and ATMs in the baggage hall. Rates are the same official bank rates as in town.
- Banks in the city: Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), Dashen, Awash, Abyssinia and others. Bring your passport.
- Hotels: larger hotels exchange for guests, sometimes at a slightly lower rate.
- Keep every receipt. You may need it to change birr back or to show where your money came from.