The life of the ordinary Ethiopian citizen has changed drastically since the turn of the new millennium. While back in the day, cash was king, that’s no longer the case today. Instead of carrying loads of cash, the recommended thing today is to store funds digitally and, in turn, use them digitally.
Regardless of the goods or services you want, whether it’s paying bills, buying some groceries, engaging in online gambling, or subscribing to entertainment services, everything can be purchased online using digital funds.
In Ethiopia, one of the most popular platforms that facilitates digital transactions is Telebirr. In this article, we will share all there is to know about this payment gateway.
What is Telebirr?
Telebirr is a mobile money payment provider. It is a product of Ethio Telecom, the state-owned telecommunications and internet service provider in Ethiopia. Thanks to its capacity of processing up to 100 transactions per second, Telebirr has risen to become one of the biggest fintechs in Ethiopia. With the company currently working on scaling up to 1000 transactions per second, the future of Telebirr keeps getting brighter by the day.
While Telebirr’s capacity to process loads of transactions at once has made it a convenient platform of choice for many Ethiopians, there are also a whole host of other factors that continue to popularize Telebirr. These include the following:
- Multilingual: Telebirr is a multi-lingual application that supports English as well as four local languages. This means the less literate and elderly population who may not understand English can use the Telebirr service on their own in their native language.
- Multi-Platform Accessibility: Another great beauty of Telebirr is that it can be accessed across different platforms. For as long as you have a mobile device whether it’s a smartphone or not, you can use Telebirr. This is necessitated by the fact that Telebirr is accessible via SMS, USSD, and the mobile app.
- Wide range of services offered: Using Telebirr, users can pay for goods and services digitally, cash in (deposit) and cash out (withdraw) cash, buy airtime, pay bills online, and remit funds both domestically and internationally.
How to Use Telebirr
Using Telebirr Ethiopia is pretty simple. Those looking to use the service at retail outlets will simply need to provide the Telebirr registered mobile phone number. Once cashiers enter the total price of the purchased goods and services, the only thing requested from the user is to enter his or her PIN to authorize the transaction. Likewise, when using an online merchant, users need to follow the check-out prompts to complete the transaction. Those who intend to use the USSD option must click *127# to see all the services offered.
How to Register
All those who want to use Telebirr need to register their accounts on the platform first. Note that the prerequisite required in getting an account is to have an Ethio Telecom mobile SIM card. Once you get the SIM card, you can register either via the App or USSD. The steps to follow in registering an account via the App include:
- Create a ‘New Account’
- Choose ‘Quick Create Account’ or ‘Self Create Account’
- Enter ‘Mobile Number’ and click on ‘Get Code’
- Enter the verification code sent to the respective tab and click ‘Next’
- Check and confirm your details as they appear on the screen
- If you confirm the authenticity of all details, click the ‘Submit’ button
- Enter the default PIN you receive and press login
- To activate the Account, change the default PIN to a new one and click ‘Finish’
- A new SMS will pop up confirming that your account is successfully activated.
The steps to follow when creating an account via USSD:
- Dial *127#
- Send 1 to register
- Enter the invitation code or send # to skip
- Again dial *127#
- Send Zero (0) to activate
- Select language
- Enter the default PIN received from 127 and change it to your PIN
- You will be notified that your account has been successfully activated.
Round Up
Telebirr is a great mobile money service that has a wide reach in Ethiopia. Among other things, it enables users to pay for goods and services online, pay bills, purchase airtime, and remit funds.