The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) introduced an upgraded version of its digital wallet, CBE Birr Plus, aiming to serve the increasing digital platform user base. The move comes as digital transactions continue to dominate the banking landscape, accounting for a substantial 72 percent of the bank’s total transactions in the past fiscal year, according to Deputy and Acting President Ephrem Mekuria.
Inaugurated back in 2017, the original CBE Birr app has seen steady growth, with its user base expanding from 2.2 million in 2018 to 6.5 million in 2019, and currently standing at 12 million users.
The new CBE Birr Plus operates as a complementary digital platform to the main CBE app, incorporating the latest technological advancements in banking and financial systems.
Wogayehu Gebremedihin, Vice President and head of Digital Banking at CBE, emphasized the bank’s dedication to transforming traditional banking practices through digital innovation. This strategy is crucial in regions with limited access to conventional banking services.
Tigist Hamid, Director of the Information Network Security Administration and a CBE board member, highlighted the importance of financial inclusion as a core objective. While commending the bank’s progress in digital banking, she underscored the need to bridge the digital divide and extend these services to the segment of the Ethiopian population that is currently excluded from the digital financial ecosystem.
Source: The Ethiopian Herald
