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The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia recently announced adjustments to its service charges, set to take effect in late July of this year. The changes will primarily impact mobile banking services, with some transactions that were previously free now incurring fees.
One notable change is that withdrawals of any authorized amount will remain free, while mobile money transfers will now be subject to service charges. Digital banking transfers between 1 birr and 10,000 birr used to be free, but starting next week, the bank will charge 3 birr for these transactions. The highest fee will be 20 Ethiopian birr for transfers exceeding 300,000 Ethiopian birr.
Additionally, mobile transfers to Tele Birr and other wallets will now have fees, with a maximum charge of 15 birr for transfers of 10,000 birr and above. However, transfers through Internet Banking to accounts with other banks appear to be unaffected by these changes.
This adjustment in service charges comes on the heels of a major incident in March 2024, when Commercial Bank of Ethiopia experienced a systemic glitch that resulted in the illegal withdrawal of approximately 800,000 birr (other sources suggest a higher figure). The bank has since recovered over 97% of the lost funds.
The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, the largest bank in the country with over 2,000 branches, is state-owned. These changes in service charges reflect the evolving landscape of digital banking services in Ethiopia, as well as the bank’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its security measures and protect the financial interests of its customers.
For more information, refer to the official Commercial Bank of Ethiopia website.
