In November 2025, EthSwitch announced a strategic partnership with Mastercard to strengthen Ethiopia's digital payment ecosystem. This enables Ethiopian banks to issue globally accepted prepaid cards and better connect to international payment networks. The development emphasizes the urgent need for robust data infrastructure among local banks.
The EthSwitch-Mastercard partnership, announced in November 2025, represents a key advancement in modernizing Ethiopia's banking sector. It empowers Ethiopian banks to issue globally accepted prepaid cards and integrate with international payment networks, promoting stronger financial linkages.
Ethiopia's National Bank has focused on expanding instant payments through its Digital Payments Strategy to boost interoperability among financial institutions and accelerate settlements. Platforms such as Telebirr have shown strong uptake, processing trillions of birr in transactions and reaching over 30 million users, thereby heightening expectations for swift and dependable services.
This evolution demands that banks modernize their data foundations. Legacy systems fall short for low-latency needs, requiring cloud-compatible setups with clustered databases, synchronous data replication, and automated failover for consistent availability. Transaction data fuels big data applications in fraud detection, credit assessment, and regulatory compliance. Operational durability is essential amid regional power inconsistencies, involving expenditures on reserve power and duplicate facilities. A tier-3 secure data center demands 15-25 million USD in investment, yet it averts steeper costs from service interruptions.
Defensive protocols like network partitioning and dedicated connections are critical against rising cyber risks. Such foundational strength also spurs product innovations including digital wallets and advances financial inclusion by connecting unbanked groups and rural traders to digital commerce. With a solid data backbone, Ethiopian banks can fulfill client needs, mitigate hazards, and propel economic progress.