Card Banking in Ethiopia

This infographic explores the evolution of Ethiopia’s card banking ecosystem, highlighting rapid infrastructure expansion alongside uneven usage patterns. While both ATMs and POS machines have grown significantly, card usage remains heavily skewed toward cash withdrawals, with ATM transactions vastly outpacing POS activity. Urban concentration continues to shape access, with POS infrastructure largely centered in Addis Ababa and major cities, while rural areas remain underserved. Despite rising transaction volumes and values over the years, recent trends show a slowdown in ATM transaction growth signaling possible user saturation, shrinking transaction sizes, or a gradual shift toward alternative digital payment methods. Together, these insights reveal a maturing but imbalanced card ecosystem, where infrastructure growth has yet to fully translate into diversified, everyday digital payment behavior.