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# Ethiopia Payouts

Use this guide when you want to send ETB payouts to recipients in Ethiopia. Ethiopia supports **bank transfers** and **mobile wallets (Telebirr, M-Pesa, CBE Birr, YaYa)**.

## Overview

* **Currency:** ETB
* **Payment location:** `ETH`
* **Supported rails:** Bank transfer, Mobile wallet
* **Payment methods:**
  * Bank transfer → `paymentMethodId: "banktransfer"`, `recipient.type: "bank_account"`
  * Mobile wallet → `paymentMethodId: "mobilemoney"`, `recipient.type: "mobile_money"`

## Required fields by rail

### Bank transfer

| Field               | Required | Notes                                                   |
| ------------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| `accountNumber`     | Yes      | Bank account number                                     |
| `bankCode`          | Yes      | The code returned by `GET /v1/payout/banks?country=ETH` |
| `accountHolderName` | Yes      | Name on the account                                     |
| `country`           | Yes      | `ETH`                                                   |
| `phoneNumber`       | No       | International format                                    |

The bank list also includes Telebirr, M-Pesa, CBE Birr and YaYa. Pay those as a [mobile wallet](#mobile-wallet), not as a bank transfer.

### Mobile wallet

| Field         | Required | Notes                                               |
| ------------- | -------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| `phoneNumber` | Yes      | MSISDN in international format, e.g. `251911234567` |
| `country`     | Yes      | `ETH`                                               |
| `operator`    | Yes      | `telebirr`, `mpesa`, `cbebirr` or `yaya`            |
| `name`        | No       | Recipient name                                      |

`mpesa` with `country: "ETH"` is Safaricom Ethiopia, not Safaricom Kenya. E-Birr (`ebirr`) and AwashBirr (`awashbirr`) can be used for collections but cannot receive payouts.

Top-level required fields for every payout: `merchantId`, `merchantReference`, `destinationValue` (with `minorAmount` and `currency`), `paymentMethodId`, `paymentLocation`, `sender` (see [Sender details](#sender-details-required)), and exactly one of `recipient` (inline details) or `payoutBeneficiaryId` (see [Payout Beneficiaries](/payout-beneficiaries)). The examples below use an inline `recipient`.

## Sender details (required)

Every payout requires a `sender` object for KYT/KYC screening. Ethiopia needs no sender fields beyond the standard ones.

| Field            | Required | Notes                                                                                                                           |
| ---------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `fullName`       | Yes      | Sender's full name                                                                                                              |
| `identity`       | Yes      | Identity document type: `passport`, `nationalId`, `driversLicense`, `residencePermit`, `businessRegistrationNumber`, or `other` |
| `identityNumber` | Yes      | Identity document number                                                                                                        |

See [Create Payout](/api-reference/payouts/payouts/payouts/initiate-payout) for the full sender schema.

## Account validation

For mobile wallets, [account validation](/api-reference/payouts/verification) checks that the number is in the Ethiopian mobile format: `251` followed by 9 digits, starting with `9` or `7`. It doesn't confirm that the number is in use or who the wallet belongs to, so please confirm recipient details before sending.

Account validation isn't available for Ethiopian bank accounts yet.

## Example requests

### Bank transfer

```json
{
  "merchantId": "your-merchant-id",
  "merchantReference": "PAYOUT-ET-001",
  "destinationValue": {
    "minorAmount": 500000,
    "currency": "ETB"
  },
  "paymentMethodId": "banktransfer",
  "paymentLocation": "ETH",
  "recipient": {
    "type": "bank_account",
    "accountNumber": "1000123456789",
    "bankCode": "<code from GET /v1/payout/banks?country=ETH>",
    "accountHolderName": "Abebe Kebede",
    "country": "ETH"
  },
  "sender": {
    "fullName": "Jane Smith",
    "identity": "passport",
    "identityNumber": "A12345678"
  }
}
```

### Mobile wallet (Telebirr)

```json
{
  "merchantId": "your-merchant-id",
  "merchantReference": "PAYOUT-ET-002",
  "destinationValue": {
    "minorAmount": 150000,
    "currency": "ETB"
  },
  "paymentMethodId": "mobilemoney",
  "paymentLocation": "ETH",
  "recipient": {
    "type": "mobile_money",
    "name": "Abebe Kebede",
    "operator": "telebirr",
    "country": "ETH",
    "phoneNumber": "251911234567"
  },
  "sender": {
    "fullName": "Jane Smith",
    "identity": "passport",
    "identityNumber": "A12345678"
  }
}
```

For M-Pesa, CBE Birr or YaYa, change `operator` to `mpesa`, `cbebirr` or `yaya`.

## Related guides

* [Bank Transfers](/payout-bank-transfers)
* [Mobile Wallet](/payout-mobile-wallet)
* [Mobile Number Format](/mobile-number-format)
* [Supported Destinations](/payout-supported-destinations)