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EthSwitch, BPC partner to create national switch infrastructure for Ethiopia

BPC's SmartVista will provide a central transaction switching platform to give customers access to their money and other financial services regardless of home bank.

August 29, 2014

Ethiopia's EthSwitch has selected the SmartVista solution from BPC Banking Technologies, a provider of Open System payment solutions, to power its national switching operations in Ethiopia.

EthSwitch was formed by all the banks in Ethiopia, and has the backing of the Ethiopian Bankers’ Association and the National Bank of Ethiopia.

SmartVista will connect all banks to a central transaction switching platform that will provide customers with access to their money and other financial services via ATM, mobile and Internet channels, and POS devices, regardless of their home bank.

The solution will also allow EthSwitch to interface with international payments schemes, such as Visa and MasterCard and enhance local acceptance of these globally branded cards. The system will be linked to the national automated transfer system (comprising ACH and RTGS) to facilitate efficient clearing and settlement of all transactions.

“Our goal is to make interbank retail payments processing easier, while increasing security and transparency," said Bizuneh Bekele, CEO of EthSwitch S.C. "We are looking forward to improving Ethiopia’s payments landscape and believe that BPC Banking Technologies’ expertise and experience will help us achieve our goal to build and operate the unifying e-payment platform for all financial institutions in Ethiopia.”