Sending money from Italy to Ethiopia: the payments stack
Sending EUR 140 from Italy to Ethiopia cost 4.49% of the amount on average in Q3 2025, across 20 services in the World Bank's Remittance Prices Worldwide survey. Payouts in Ethiopia typically run over Ethiopia Instant Payment System (EIPS), EATS (RTGS); between now and the end of 2027 there are 4 weekdays when banks in Italy are closed but Ethiopia keeps paying out, so the payout balance has to be funded before them.
| Average cost to send | 4.49% of EUR 140 (Q3 2025, World Bank RPW) source |
| Money transfer operators | 4.49% across 20 services |
| Collect in Italy | SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst), TIPS (TARGET Instant Payment Settlement), T2 (RTGS and CLM), SEPA Credit Transfer (SCT), CENTROlink |
| Pay out in Ethiopia | Ethiopia Instant Payment System (EIPS), EATS (RTGS), telebirr and other wallets |
What it costs to send EUR 140
The World Bank surveyed 20 services sending from Italy to Ethiopia from 8 August 2025 to 3 September 2025. The average total cost, fees plus the FX margin, was 4.49% of the amount sent; money transfer operators averaged 4.49%. source
Bank and operator averages are worked out from the survey's provider types.
The send side: Italy
- PSD2 sets initial capital for payment institutions at 20,000 euros for money remittance only, 50,000 euros for payment initiation and 125,000 euros for the services in points 1 to 5 of Annex I (Article 7). source
- An e-money institution must hold initial capital of at least 350,000 euros at authorisation (EMD2, Article 4). source
- A payment institution that wants to provide services in another Member State for the first time notifies its home competent authority of the Member States, the services and any agents or branches it will use (PSD2, Article 28); agents are entered in the home register before they start (Article 19). source
Licences, sponsor banks, collections, ramps and KYC providers: sending from the Eurozone.
The payout side: Ethiopia
| Payout partner | What it does in Ethiopia | Source |
|---|---|---|
| dLocal · our guide | Payouts V3 sends ETB to Ethiopian bank accounts and to TELEBIRR, CBEBIRR, MPESA, KACHA and YAYA wallets for B2C, B2B and P2P flows, with full remitter details required for remittances in line with NBE rules; bank payouts can be denominated in ETB or USD. | source |
| TerraPay · our guide | Lists Ethiopia (ETB) with wallet and bank payout, and in May 2026 launched blockchain-based settlement for euro remittances into Ethiopia with Cooperative Bank of Oromia and Quantoz, approved by the NBE. | source |
| Thunes · our guide | Partnered with Ethio Telecom so telebirr users receive real-time cross-border payments through the Thunes network. | source |
| Chapa | Payout API sends money from a Chapa balance to Ethiopian bank accounts and mobile money wallets, with single, bulk and B2B payout endpoints. | source |
Licensing, local banks, stablecoin ramps, FX and KYC in Ethiopia: launching payments in Ethiopia.
Payout rails in Ethiopia
| Rail | Operator | What matters for payouts | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethiopia Instant Payment System (EIPS) | EthSwitch S.C. | Real-time, irrevocable account-to-account transfers between customers of different financial service providers, operating 24/7. | source |
| EATS (RTGS) | National Bank of Ethiopia | Real-time gross settlement for high-value interbank payments, operating ten hours a day, six days a week including Saturdays, on ISO 20022 since 29 March 2025. | source |
| telebirr and other wallets | Ethio Telecom and licensed payment instrument issuers | Mobile money wallets licensed by the NBE; dLocal's Ethiopia payout API reaches TELEBIRR, CBEBIRR, MPESA, KACHA and YAYA wallets by +251 phone number. | source |
Holiday gaps to plan for, to December 2027
Weekdays when one side of the corridor is closed. On the 4 dates when Italy is closed and Ethiopia is open, the payout balance has to already hold enough to cover them. On the 7 dates when Ethiopia is closed, instant rails may still pay out.
| Date | Italy | Ethiopia | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 25 Dec 2026 | Christmas Day | Open | Prefund Ethiopia the day before: no funding from Italy, payouts continue |
| Fri 1 Jan 2027 | New Year's Day | Open | Prefund Ethiopia the day before: no funding from Italy, payouts continue |
| Thu 7 Jan 2027 | Open | Genna (Ethiopian Christmas) | Ethiopia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Tue 19 Jan 2027 | Open | Timket (Epiphany) | Ethiopia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Tue 2 Mar 2027 | Open | Adwa Victory Day | Ethiopia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Tue 9 Mar 2027 | Open | Eid al-Fitr | Ethiopia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 26 Mar 2027 | Good Friday | Open | Prefund Ethiopia the day before: no funding from Italy, payouts continue |
| Mon 29 Mar 2027 | Easter Monday | Open | Prefund Ethiopia the day before: no funding from Italy, payouts continue |
| Fri 30 Apr 2027 | Open | Siklet (Ethiopian Good Friday) | Ethiopia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Wed 5 May 2027 | Open | Patriots' Victory Day | Ethiopia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Tue 28 Sep 2027 | Open | Meskel (Finding of the True Cross) | Ethiopia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
Full calendars: Euro area (TARGET2/T2 and SEPA) and Ethiopia. Size the buffer with the corridor runway calculator.
Funding the corridor
- At the Bundesbank, T2 RTGS accepts customer payments from 02:30 to 17:00 and bank-to-bank payments from 02:30 to 18:00 on business days, so non-instant euro funding must be sent within those windows. source
- T2 has a non-optional maintenance window every week from 02:30 Saturday to 02:30 Monday, extended over TARGET closing days (for example from Good Friday to the Tuesday after Easter); when the optional weekday window (03:00 to 05:00) is activated, settlement of liquidity transfers in TIPS is affected while TIPS keeps processing instant payments. source
- A Representative pays a beneficiary only once the IRSP has credited enough foreign currency in advance to its correspondent account. IRSPs that show they operate in 50 or more countries can instead settle within 24 hours, and if they miss that without good cause the Representative stops next-day payments and reports to the NBE. source
- Representatives must pay beneficiaries within 24 hours, in birr at the prevailing exchange rate, or in foreign currency where the beneficiary holds a foreign currency account. source
- Since 29 July 2024 banks set exchange rates freely, the NBE intervenes only in disorderly conditions, and surrender requirements to the NBE have ended; capital account outflows remain restricted. source
Running the corridor
Polynopsis shows every balance on both sides of this corridor in one live position: the collection accounts in Italy, the payout partners and banks in Ethiopia and any stablecoin in between. It warns before the Ethiopia balance runs dry, holidays included. See how it works.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to send money from Italy to Ethiopia?
The World Bank's survey put the average total cost of sending EUR 140 at 4.49% in Q3 2025, across 20 services. Money transfer operators averaged 4.49%.
Which rails pay out in Ethiopia?
Local payouts run over Ethiopia Instant Payment System (EIPS), EATS (RTGS), telebirr and other wallets.
When do I need to prefund Ethiopia payouts ahead of holidays?
Between now and December 2027 there are 4 weekdays when Italy is closed and Ethiopia is open, the first on Fri 25 Dec 2026. The payout balance has to cover those days before they start.
Related corridors
Sources
- World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide dataset · World Bank
- T2 (opening hours and closing days) · European Central Bank
- TARGET Systems operating schedule, euro · European Central Bank
- Proclamation No. 1334/2024 to Determine Public Holidays and Celebration of Public Holidays · Ministry of Justice, Ethiopia
- Proclamation No. 1334/2024 (English text) · MetaAppz Ethiopian Laws
Know where all your money is.
Polynopsis gives cross-border payment teams one live position across every bank, payout partner, exchange and wallet, including money in flight, and warns before a corridor runs dry.
About Polynopsis
Polynopsis is liquidity management software for cross-border payment companies. The name joins poly, many, and synopsis, a seeing together: one live view of money spread across many banks, payout partners, exchanges and stablecoin wallets, including money in flight, with a warning before any corridor runs dry.
Why it is called Polynopsis · About Polynopsis · Glossary · Corridor runway calculator