Visa, SantimPay to Deploy 20,000 POS Terminals in Ethiopia
Addis Ababa – Global payments giant Visa Inc. has entered into a strategic partnership with Ethiopian fintech firm SantimPay Financial Solutions S.A. to deploy 20,000 point-of-sale (POS) terminals across Ethiopia, a major step toward building out the nation’s underdeveloped digital payments infrastructure.
The agreement—inked during the Visa Connector Ethiopia summit last week—marks Visa’s first financial partnership program in East Africa and comes as the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) accelerates efforts to expand merchant acceptance, boost cashless transactions, and deepen financial inclusion across the country.
“This is a watershed moment for Ethiopia’s payments ecosystem,” said a regional executive at Visa, calling it a “foundational investment” in digital infrastructure.
Mass Deployment to Tackle Merchant Acceptance Gap
The rollout, managed by SantimPay, will see tens of thousands of low-cost, interoperable POS terminals installed in both urban and rural merchant locations. Ethiopia’s total active POS terminal count currently sits under 10,000, one of the lowest on the continent for a nation of over 120 million people.
With this agreement, Ethiopia is poised to more than triple its merchant acceptance footprint over the next 12 to 18 months.
“Our mission is to make digital payments accessible, affordable, and inclusive,” said SantimPay CEO, noting the partnership as a model of public-private alignment under NBE directives.
Visa’s Bet on a Nascent Market
Visa’s entrance into Ethiopia’s physical payments space comes amid a broader fintech liberalization wave. In recent years, the Ethiopian government has:
- Granted foreign mobile money licenses (Safaricom’s M-Pesa entered in 2023)
- Introduced the Payment Issuer Instrument Directive (2020)
- Launched its National Digital Payments Strategy (2021–2025)
- Prioritized card payment interoperability and fintech licensing reforms
Ethiopia’s mobile payments sector is booming—with Telebirr surpassing 40 million users—but card usage and merchant infrastructure remain underdeveloped. The new partnership attempts to bridge that divide.
“We’re not just deploying terminals. We’re unlocking ecosystems,” said a Visa official at the signing ceremony.
Project Scope and Technical Details
The partnership’s scope includes:
- 20,000 POS terminals, phased rollout starting Q4 2025
- EMV and QR compatibility for both card-based and mobile wallet payments
- Integration with Ethiopia’s national switch (EthSwitch) and core banking APIs
- Support for multi-language UIs and offline fallback for rural merchants
- A pipeline for merchant financing and digital credit scoring
Visa will also support SantimPay with merchant training, digital literacy, and fraud risk management, signaling an end-to-end capacity-building model.
Financial Inclusion and Policy Alignment
The collaboration supports the National Bank of Ethiopia’s (NBE) 2025 target of increasing digital transaction share to over 40% and reducing cash dependency across government services, transport, retail, and health sectors.
SantimPay’s positioning as a homegrown fintech player gives the project local credibility, while Visa’s global network provides scale and compliance assurance.
“This partnership shows what’s possible when regulatory clarity meets international investment,” said a senior advisor at NBE.
Digital Payments: Ethiopia by the Numbers
| Metric | Current (2025) | Target (2026–2027) |
|---|---|---|
| POS Terminals Nationwide | ~8,700 | 28,000+ |
| Card Penetration (Active Users) | ~5.2 million | 10 million+ |
| Share of Digital Payments | ~18% | >40% |
| Mobile Wallet Users (Telebirr) | 40.5 million | >50 million |
| MSMEs with Merchant Accounts | <10% | >30% |
Broader Implications: From Hardware to Ecosystems
The deployment of POS machines isn’t just about terminals—it’s about creating a digital merchant ecosystem that can eventually connect to:
- Digital tax systems
- Micro-credit and BNPL services
- Loyalty and rewards programs
- Supply chain digitization
Analysts expect the project to unlock new credit access for small merchants and enable better data-driven lending models through transaction histories.
“This is foundational fintech infrastructure,” said a payment systems analyst in Nairobi. “Without it, mobile money remains peer-to-peer. With it, you get a real digital economy.”
What’s Next?
If successful, this partnership could pave the way for:
- More foreign entrants into Ethiopia’s fintech space (e.g., Mastercard, Stripe Africa)
- A possible merchant acquiring license for SantimPay
- Pilot projects for softPOS (tap-on-phone) and contactless fare systems in public transport
- Strengthened integration with the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) under AfCFTA
Visa is expected to increase its footprint in Ethiopia through further partnerships in mobile banking, open APIs, and government e-payments.
Bottom Line
Visa’s deal with SantimPay could be a turning point in Ethiopia’s transition from a cash-first to a digitally enabled economy. As the country opens its doors to foreign capital and tech, the success of such partnerships will be closely watched by regulators, investors, and rival payment providers.
With digital commerce rising and the state embracing reform, Ethiopia may just become East Africa’s next fintech frontier.
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