# EthSwitch QR

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/ethswitch-qr
> research date 2026-05-29 · extracted at 2026-10-06
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [EthSwitch S.C — official](https://ethswitch.com/)
- [Interoperable QR standard — EthSwitch](https://ethswitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Interoperable-QR-Standard.pdf)
- [EthSwitch launches EthioPay — Capital Ethiopia](https://capitalethiopia.com/2025/12/21/ethswitch-launches-ethiopay-to-unify-national-digital-paymentsby-our-staff-reporter/)

## Overview

**EthSwitch QR (Interoperable QR Standard)** is **Ethiopia's national interoperable QR-payment standard**, developed by **EthSwitch S.C.** (owned by the **National Bank of Ethiopia**) and **officially launched in April 2024** <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [Ethiopia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ET)</sup>. The standard enables QR codes to **work seamlessly across any participating mobile payment app** — removing the need for multiple QR codes for different payment providers. Merchants display a **single QR code** to receive payments from any customer, regardless of whether they use TeleBirr, M-Pesa Ethiopia, banks' own apps, or other licensed payment providers.

The structural significance: Ethiopia's pre-EthSwitch-QR landscape was dominated by **closed-loop QR systems** — most notably **TeleBirr** (Ethio Telecom's mobile money, launched 2021) which can only be used within its own app. Following a **National Bank of Ethiopia directive**, all financial transaction entities — **banks, microfinance institutions, and digital payment operators (M-Pesa, Telebirr)** — are required to implement the standardised interoperable QR. **December 2025**, EthSwitch officially launched **EthioPay** at Friendship Park in Addis Ababa — a broader rebrand/extension that unifies Ethiopia's digital-payment systems under a single interoperable national identity with **same-day interbank settlement**.

## History

**Background — Ethiopian payment landscape pre-2024** <sup>[Ethiopia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ET)</sup>:
- **National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE)** — central bank, regulator.
- **EthSwitch** — Ethiopia's national interbank-payment switch, owned by NBE.
- **TeleBirr** — Ethio Telecom's mobile-money platform, launched 2021; rapidly became Ethiopia's largest mobile-money product. Closed-loop QR.
- **M-Pesa Ethiopia** — Safaricom Ethiopia's mobile money, launched 2023.
- **Major Ethiopian banks**: Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE, state, largest), Awash Bank, Dashen Bank, Bank of Abyssinia, others.
- Pre-EthSwitch-QR: fragmented closed-loop QR landscape with limited interop.

**National Bank of Ethiopia directive** <sup>[Ethiopia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ET)</sup>:
- NBE issues directive requiring all financial-transaction entities (banks, MFIs, digital-payment operators) to implement standardised QR code.
- Aimed at eliminating closed-loop fragmentation.

**April 2024 — Interoperable QR launches** <sup>[Ethiopia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ET)</sup>:
- EthSwitch officially launches the **interoperable QR payment standard**.
- Designed for cross-app, cross-bank acceptance.

**December 2024 — Interoperable QR specification published** <sup>[2][2]</sup>:
- EthSwitch publishes formal **"Standard for Interoperable QR Code Payments — Interoperable P2M Payments Using"** document.

**December 2025 — EthioPay official launch** <sup>[3][3]</sup>:
- EthSwitch unveils **EthioPay** at Friendship Park in Addis Ababa.
- Senior government officials, financial-sector leaders, ecosystem participants attend.
- EthioPay positioned as **unified national digital-payment identity** with **same-day interbank settlement**.

**2025+ — Cross-border ambition** <sup>[Ethiopia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ET)</sup>:
- Ethiopia plans to allow **outbound cross-border payments** in proposed Digital Payments Strategy.

## Technical specification

EthSwitch QR / EthioPay is **Ethiopia's national interoperable QR + payment-system identity** <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [3][3]</sup>:

| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| **Operator** | **EthSwitch S.C.** |
| **Owner** | **National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE)** |
| **Brand evolution** | EthSwitch interoperable QR (Apr 2024) → **EthioPay** (Dec 2025) |
| **Specification** | "Standard for Interoperable QR Code Payments — Interoperable P2M Payments Using" (Dec 2024) |
| **Settlement** | **Same-day interbank settlement** (EthioPay launch) |
| **Currency** | ETB (Ethiopian birr) |
| **Mandated participants** | **Banks, MFIs, digital payment operators** (TeleBirr, M-Pesa Ethiopia, etc.) |
| **QR mode** | MPM primary (merchants display) |

**Mandated participation** <sup>[Ethiopia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ET)</sup>:
- NBE directive: **all financial-transaction entities** must implement EthSwitch QR.
- Designed to dismantle closed-loop fragmentation problem.

**TeleBirr — the closed-loop incumbent being dismantled** <sup>[Ethiopia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ET)</sup>:
- Pre-EthSwitch-QR, TeleBirr's QR could only be used within its own app.
- Now required to accept and be accepted by other participants in the EthSwitch ecosystem.

**EthioPay (Dec 2025+)** <sup>[3][3]</sup>:
- Unified national digital-payment identity.
- Same-day interbank settlement — significant improvement over prior multi-day settlement cycles.

## Use cases

**Cross-app merchant payment** <sup>[Ethiopia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ET)</sup>: Merchants display a single EthSwitch QR; customers pay via TeleBirr, M-Pesa Ethiopia, bank apps, or other licensed wallets.

**Bank-to-mobile-wallet interoperability** <sup>[Ethiopia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ET)</sup>: Bank-account holder can pay merchant accepting via mobile-wallet customer's QR; mobile-wallet user can pay bank-account-holder's QR.

**Cross-mobile-money interop** <sup>[Ethiopia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ET)</sup>: TeleBirr user can pay M-Pesa Ethiopia merchant and vice versa — eliminating closed-loop walls.

**Same-day interbank settlement (EthioPay)** <sup>[3][3]</sup>: Real-time settlement competing with traditional batched ACH cycles.

**Cross-border ambition (proposed)** <sup>[Ethiopia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ET)</sup>: Outbound cross-border payments per proposed Digital Payments Strategy.

## Implementations & ecosystem

**Operator**: **EthSwitch S.C.** — Ethiopia's national interbank switch, owned by **National Bank of Ethiopia**.

**Mandated participants** <sup>[Ethiopia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ET)</sup>:
- **All Ethiopian banks**: Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE, state, largest), Awash Bank, Dashen Bank, Bank of Abyssinia, etc.
- **TeleBirr** (Ethio Telecom mobile money).
- **M-Pesa Ethiopia** (Safaricom Ethiopia).
- **Microfinance institutions**.
- **Other licensed digital payment operators**.

**No public open-source SDK** identified — implementation via NBE-coordinated EthSwitch integration.

## Fun facts

- **Mandated interoperability over closed loops**: Ethiopia's NBE directive forcing TeleBirr (the dominant closed-loop wallet) to interoperate with the broader ecosystem is structurally similar to Brazil's regulatory push that produced Pix. NBE chose **regulatory mandate** over **market evolution**.
- **TeleBirr-as-target**: Pre-EthSwitch-QR, TeleBirr had ~46M users — making it Ethiopia's dominant payment-acceptance closed loop. NBE's interop mandate is structurally aimed at **opening TeleBirr's closed-loop merchant network** to other participants.
- **EthioPay rebrand (Dec 2025)**: Within ~20 months of interoperable-QR launch (Apr 2024 → Dec 2025), EthSwitch evolved the standard into a **branded national identity** (EthioPay) — fast brand-marketing evolution.
- **Friendship Park launch ceremony**: EthioPay's December 2025 launch at Friendship Park in Addis Ababa (a Belt-and-Road-Initiative-funded park) is symbolically interesting — Ethiopia's payment-modernisation has Chinese investment context.
- **Same-day interbank settlement**: Compared to pre-EthSwitch-QR multi-day batched ACH cycles, **same-day settlement** is a structural improvement bringing Ethiopian payment infrastructure closer to peer modern instant rails.
- **Cross-border ambition**: Ethiopia's proposed Digital Payments Strategy includes outbound cross-border payments — significant for Ethiopia's diaspora-remittance flows.
- **NBE owns EthSwitch**: Unlike peer national interbank switches that are bank-consortium-owned (e.g., Bankart Slovenia, BORICA Belarus), EthSwitch is **directly central-bank-owned** — structurally similar to NBC's Bakong Cambodia or NBM's [MIA QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/mia-qr) Moldova.
- **Lessons from peers**: Ethiopia's move follows the patterns of [SGQR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/sgqr) (SG 2018), [DuitNow QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/duitnow-qr) (MY 2017+), [QRIS](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/qris) (ID 2019) — all of which unified closed-loop QRs into national interoperable standards. Ethiopia is implementing a well-tested model.

## Comparison

| Feature | EthSwitch QR / EthioPay (ET) | [SGQR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/sgqr) (SG) | [QRIS](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/qris) (ID) | [TWQR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/twqr) (TW) | [NQR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/nqr) (NG) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | EthSwitch S.C. (NBE-owned) | Singapore Payments Council | BI / ASPI | FISC | NIBSS (CBN-supervised) |
| Launch (QR standard) | **Apr 2024 / EthioPay Dec 2025** | Sep 2018 | 2019 | Oct 2023 | Mar 2021 |
| Closed-loop predecessor | **TeleBirr** | Multiple wallets | Multiple wallets | Multiple wallets | OPay, PalmPay closed loops |
| Mandated participation | **Yes (NBE directive)** | Coordinated | BI-coordinated | FISC-coordinated | Voluntary |
| Same-day settlement | **Yes (EthioPay)** | Real-time | Real-time | Real-time | NIP-based |
| Population reach | Ethiopia (~120M) | Singapore (5.6M) | Indonesia (270M+) | Taiwan (23M) | Nigeria (220M+) |

**Closest peer**: [DuitNow QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/duitnow-qr) (MY) — both are central-bank-coordinated national QR rails dismantling closed-loop fragmentation.

**Structural distinction**: Ethiopia is **the most-recent major-economy national-interoperable-QR rollout** — with the benefit of lessons from SG/MY/ID/TW peers.

## Status

**Active, recently launched, accelerating** <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [3][3]</sup>:
- **EthSwitch S.C.** operator (NBE-owned).
- **Interoperable QR launched April 2024**.
- **Specification published December 2024**.
- **EthioPay national digital-payment-identity launched December 2025**.
- **Same-day interbank settlement** under EthioPay.
- **All Ethiopian banks + MFIs + digital-payment operators** mandated participation.

**Outlook**: Continued rollout enforcement; TeleBirr closed-loop dismantling; cross-border integration per proposed Digital Payments Strategy; possible regional Horn-of-Africa or East African Community integration over the medium term.

## Sources

[1]: https://ethswitch.com/ "EthSwitch S.C — official"
[2]: https://ethswitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Interoperable-QR-Standard.pdf "Interoperable QR standard — EthSwitch"
[3]: https://capitalethiopia.com/2025/12/21/ethswitch-launches-ethiopay-to-unify-national-digital-paymentsby-our-staff-reporter/ "EthSwitch launches EthioPay — Capital Ethiopia"

- [1] [EthSwitch S.C — official][1]
- [2] [Interoperable QR Standard — EthSwitch][2]
- [3] [EthSwitch launches EthioPay — Capital Ethiopia][3]
- <sup>[Ethiopia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ET)</sup> `reports/countries/ET-ethiopia.md`

## Deployments

Found in the following country reports (grep across `reports/countries/`):

- **ET** — [ET-ethiopia.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/ET)