Question 1

Which bank is cheapest for transfers to another bank?

Accepted Answer

For 2,000 birr, the lowest app fee to another bank comes from Coopbank: free. Published sources for Coopbank's fee are incomplete or conflicting, so check the app before you send. For comparison, CBE charges ETB 1.20 in total.

Question 2

Is VAT included?

Accepted Answer

Not in most bank tariffs. Every bank adds 15% VAT and the 5% Disaster Risk Response Fund contribution to its service fee, so we add both. For example, sending 2,000 birr from CBE to Telebirr costs a 10 birr fee plus 1.50 birr VAT and 0.50 birr for the fund, 12 birr in total. When a bank's tariff already includes VAT, we add only the fund, on the fee before VAT. Wallet fees are shown as published: Telebirr, M-PESA, and CBE Birr debit exactly the listed fee. A wallet that does not say is marked "VAT not stated" and left out of the cheaper-routes ranking.

Question 3

What is the 5% Disaster Risk Response Fund charge?

Accepted Answer

It is a government levy on digital banking. Council of Ministers Regulation No. 576/2025 set up Ethiopia's Disaster Risk Response Fund and came into force on 11 November 2025. Banks pay 5% of their digital banking service fees, such as mobile banking fees, into the fund, and receipts show them adding it to the fee alongside 15% VAT. On CBE's 10 birr fee to Telebirr, that is 0.50 birr, so you pay 12 birr instead of 11.50. It is charged on the fee only, never on the amount you send. This calculator covers app, internet banking, and USSD transfers, so every bank fee here includes it; when a bank's fee already includes VAT, the fund is 5% of the fee before VAT. Telebirr, M-PESA, and CBE Birr debit exactly their published fees, so nothing is added to them. The regulation also covers other sectors, such as 5% of telecom airtime and 1% of bank loans.

Question 4

What is the EthSwitch fee?

Accepted Answer

EthSwitch is the national switch that moves money between banks. Banks that pass its fee on to customers publish the same bands: 0.4% for 1 to 5,000 birr, 0.24% for 5,001 to 25,000 birr, 0.16% for 25,001 to 100,000 birr, 0.08% for 100,001 to 1,000,000 birr, 0.04% for above 1,000,000 birr, before VAT. Some banks, such as CBE, add it on top of their own fee. EthSwitch does not publish its fee guide.

Question 5

What are Telebirr's daily limits?

Accepted Answer

A Level 2 Telebirr wallet can move up to ETB 300,000 a day in total and ETB 75,000 a day person to person, under NBE directive ONPS/10/2025. Telebirr's own page says "no limit" for Level 1 and "unlimited" for Level 2 & 3, which does not match the NBE ceiling.