Regulatory Alerts2021-08-27
Added · Updated
Requirements for Undertaking Account Based Transactions and Ensuring of Regulatory Limits Directive No. FIS/04/2021
The National Bank of Ethiopia mandates commercial banks, microfinance institutions, and payment instrument issuers to implement comprehensive Know Your Customer policies, assign unique customer IDs, and establish dedicated KYC units at the head office level. The directive prohibits account-to-account transfers exceeding five transactions per week from a single account, with specific exemptions for government entities, utility payments, loan repayments, and merchant purchases. Financial institutions must deactivate accounts with incomplete profiles within six months, terminate relationships with suspected suspicious transactions, and report such cases to the Financial Intelligence Center. Non-compliance results in fines ranging from 20,000 to 100,000 Birr per violation, and the directive repeals Article 8(5) of the Payment Instrument Issuer Directive No. ONPS/01/2020.