M-PESA Ethiopia is expanding the role of mobile money in Ethiopia’s digital economy after partnering with the Amhara Regional Revenue Bureau to enable taxpayers to pay their taxes digitally through the M-PESA platform.
The agreement allows taxpayers in the Amhara Region, in northern Ethiopia, to settle tax obligations using mobile devices, reducing the need for physical visits to tax offices. The move is expected to make tax payments more convenient for individuals and businesses while improving the efficiency of public revenue collection.
The partnership represents a broader shift in how digital financial services are being integrated into public-sector transactions across Africa. By connecting mobile money infrastructure with government revenue systems, the initiative could help streamline payment processes and make formal financial services more accessible to citizens and businesses.
For M-PESA Ethiopia, the agreement also highlights the company’s growing role beyond traditional person-to-person money transfers. Its mobile money infrastructure is increasingly being positioned as a platform for a wider range of digital transactions, including payments for essential services and interactions with public institutions.
The development comes as Ethiopia continues to advance its digital payments ecosystem and promote greater financial inclusion. In June 2026, the country launched its first national digital payments strategy, aimed at accelerating digital payments and supporting more inclusive economic growth.
The Amhara initiative could therefore serve as an important example of how mobile money can support government digitisation. For taxpayers, digital payments can reduce the time and logistical costs associated with visiting physical offices. For government institutions, digital collection channels can potentially improve payment efficiency and create more streamlined processes for managing public revenue.
The partnership also reflects the increasing convergence between telecommunications, financial technology and public services across Africa. As mobile money adoption grows, platforms such as M-PESA are moving beyond payments between individuals to become part of the wider infrastructure supporting commerce, government services and financial inclusion.
For Ethiopia, the expansion of digital tax payments could mark another step toward a more connected public financial system—one where citizens and businesses can interact with government services through the same digital channels they already use for everyday financial transactions.
