Ethiopia’s national payment switch, EthSwitch, has presented a Unified Government Payment Platform (UGPP) designed to bring fragmented public bill-payment channels onto a single interoperable network.
The platform was presented at the Ethiopia Finance Forum 2026 by Kidus Menfese, Senior Business Analyst at EthSwitch. The forum, convened by the National Bank of Ethiopia from September 29 to October 1, brings together policymakers, financial institutions, investors, development partners and industry leaders.
UGPP is intended to address fragmentation in government payments, where public agencies and billers may maintain separate integrations with financial institutions, requiring customers to use different platforms and channels to settle bills.
EthSwitch said the platform would establish common national payment infrastructure connecting government services with financial institutions and customer-facing payment platforms through an interoperable system.
Customers would be able to make government payments through mobile applications, ATMs, USSD, bank branches and agents. The platform supports payment methods including account-based transfers, QR codes and alias-based payments.
The proposed infrastructure would connect government billers, financial institutions, payment channels and customers within a more integrated payment ecosystem. The initiative aligns with the National Bank of Ethiopia’s digital-payments roadmap, whose 2026–2030 draft strategy identifies fragmentation in government payment collections and disbursements as a challenge.
During the forum, EthSwitch also briefed Deputy Prime Minister Temesgen Tiruneh, Finance Minister Ahmed Shide and NBE Governor Eyob Tekalign on its services and role in Ethiopia’s digital financial infrastructure, according to the company.
EthSwitch has positioned its work on person-to-government and government-to-person payments within Ethiopia’s Digital Ethiopia 2030 strategy, the National Digital Payments Strategy and the broader development of digital public infrastructure.
