Sending money from Saudi Arabia to Ethiopia: the payments stack
Sending SAR 750 from Saudi Arabia to Ethiopia cost 7.85% of the amount on average in Q3 2025, across 3 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 9 weekdays when banks in Saudi Arabia are closed but Ethiopia keeps paying out, so the payout balance has to be funded before them.
| Average cost to send | 7.85% of SAR 750 (Q3 2025, World Bank RPW) source |
| Money transfer operators | 7.85% across 3 services |
| Collect in Saudi Arabia | sarie (Instant Payment System), SARIE (Saudi Arabian Riyal Interbank Express, RTGS) |
| Pay out in Ethiopia | Ethiopia Instant Payment System (EIPS), EATS (RTGS), telebirr and other wallets |
What it costs to send SAR 750
The World Bank surveyed 3 services sending from Saudi Arabia to Ethiopia from 21 August 2025 to 2 September 2025. The average total cost, fees plus the FX margin, was 7.85% of the amount sent; money transfer operators averaged 7.85%. source
Bank and operator averages are worked out from the survey's provider types.
The send side: Saudi Arabia
- No person can operate a payment system or provide payment services in the Kingdom without a SAMA licence (Law of Payments and Payment Services, Royal Decree M/26, Article 4). source
- The Implementing Regulations (13 June 2023) apply to anyone providing payment services from an establishment in the Kingdom, holding itself out as providing them there, or inviting, inducing or marketing to persons in the Kingdom. source
- A Micro PI must not provide payment services cross-border to persons outside the Kingdom and must stay under an average monthly payment value of SAR 10 million; a provider above SAR 10 million a month is a Major PI (Article 42). Money remittance, where funds are received without a payment account being created, is listed among the services that do not constitute payment services (Article 7). source
Licences, sponsor banks, collections, ramps and KYC providers: sending from Saudi Arabia.
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 9 dates when Saudi Arabia is closed and Ethiopia is open, the payout balance has to already hold enough to cover them. On the 6 dates when Ethiopia is closed, instant rails may still pay out.
| Date | Saudi Arabia | Ethiopia | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Mon 22 Feb 2027 | Founding Day | Open | Prefund Ethiopia the day before: no funding from Saudi Arabia, payouts continue |
| Tue 2 Mar 2027 | Open | Adwa Victory Day | Ethiopia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 8 Mar 2027 | Eid al-Fitr holiday for financial institutions (29 Ramadan) | Open | Prefund Ethiopia the day before: no funding from Saudi Arabia, payouts continue |
| Tue 9 Mar 2027 | Eid al-Fitr (1 Shawwal) | Eid al-Fitr | Both closed |
| Wed 10 Mar 2027 | Eid al-Fitr (2 Shawwal) | Open | Prefund Ethiopia the day before: no funding from Saudi Arabia, payouts continue |
| Thu 11 Mar 2027 | Eid al-Fitr holiday for financial institutions (3 Shawwal) | Open | Prefund Ethiopia the day before: no funding from Saudi Arabia, 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 |
| Mon 17 May 2027 | Eid al-Adha (11 Dhu al-Hijjah) | Open | Prefund Ethiopia the day before: no funding from Saudi Arabia, payouts continue |
| Tue 18 May 2027 | Eid al-Adha (12 Dhu al-Hijjah) | Open | Prefund Ethiopia the day before: no funding from Saudi Arabia, payouts continue |
| Wed 19 May 2027 | Eid al-Adha holiday for financial institutions (13 Dhu al-Hijjah) | Open | Prefund Ethiopia the day before: no funding from Saudi Arabia, payouts continue |
| Thu 20 May 2027 | Eid al-Adha holiday for financial institutions (14 Dhu al-Hijjah) | Open | Prefund Ethiopia the day before: no funding from Saudi Arabia, payouts continue |
| Thu 23 Sep 2027 | Saudi National Day | Open | Prefund Ethiopia the day before: no funding from Saudi Arabia, payouts continue |
| Tue 28 Sep 2027 | Open | Meskel (Finding of the True Cross) | Ethiopia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
Full calendars: Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia. Size the buffer with the corridor runway calculator.
Funding the corridor
- Official working days for ministries, financial institutions, SAMA and the stock exchange are Sunday to Thursday, with Friday and Saturday as the weekly holiday (Royal Order of June 2013). source
- Bank remittance centres work Sunday to Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Friday is a weekly holiday and Saturday is an optional working day for branches with SAMA's no-objection. 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 Saudi Arabia, 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 Saudi Arabia to Ethiopia?
The World Bank's survey put the average total cost of sending SAR 750 at 7.85% in Q3 2025, across 3 services. Money transfer operators averaged 7.85%.
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 9 weekdays when Saudi Arabia is closed and Ethiopia is open, the first on Mon 22 Feb 2027. The payout balance has to cover those days before they start.
Related corridors
Sources
- World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide dataset · World Bank
- Holidays and Working Hours (financial institutions and RTGS, 1447H to 1450H) · Saudi Central Bank
- SAMA announces official holidays and working hours for banks and RTGS until 2029 · Saudi Gazette
- 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