M-PESA Ethiopia Taps mAgents to Expand Agency Banking Under BIRR SHUM Push
M-PESA Ethiopia has entered a partnership with mAgents to accelerate agency banking services under its BIRR SHUM initiative, widening access to deposit and withdrawal services across the country as the mobile money operator deepens ties with commercial lenders.
The agreement brings mAgents’ existing relationships with Ethiopian banks into M-PESA’s ecosystem, targeting high-value customers who frequent agent outlets for cash transactions.
Under the arrangement, mAgents will recruit sub-agents, oversee compliance, and manage performance through dedicated field teams as part of an agency banking acceleration program.
Five Banks Integrated, More in Pipeline
The rollout will initially cover customers from Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Cooperative Bank of Oromia, and Wegagen Bank, with Awash Bank and Bank of Abyssinia expected to join at a later stage.
Through the model, bank customers will be onboarded into the M-PESA environment via mHUBs offering cash-in and cash-out services. Customers will be able to deposit funds into or withdraw funds from their bank accounts at participating agent locations without the need to hold an M-PESA wallet.
The structure also enables customers to pay bills through mAgent hubs and their sub-agent networks.
For mAgents and their downstream outlets, the arrangement introduces commission-based revenue tied to transaction volumes, while banks gain an extended distribution channel without investing in brick-and-mortar branches.
The partnership comes as M-PESA Ethiopia scales operations following rapid user growth. By February 2026, the platform had surpassed 12.2 million three-month active customers, a 71.7% increase from a year earlier, according to company figures.
EthSwitch Integration Strengthens Interoperability
A key enabler of that growth was the October 2025 integration with EthSwitch, Ethiopia’s national payment switch, which allows wallet holders to transfer funds between M-PESA accounts and more than 30 local banks.
The interoperability framework reduced friction between mobile wallets and the banking system, making agency banking a natural next step in expanding cash access points.
The company has also broadened its product offering beyond peer-to-peer transfers. M-PESA LeHulum, launched in 2025, allows users across any mobile network to register for the service using the Fayda Digital ID system, extending eligibility beyond Safaricom-linked subscribers and increasing the addressable market.
Agent and Merchant Footprint Widens Nationwide
The physical network supporting these services has expanded in parallel. As of recent reporting periods spanning 2025 and early 2026, M-PESA Ethiopia’s ecosystem included more than 29,200 agents and 119,500 merchants nationwide.
The addition of mAgents’ sub-agent structure is expected to deepen liquidity management at outlet level, particularly in high-traffic urban and peri-urban areas where demand for cash transactions remains elevated.
Agency banking has emerged as a distribution strategy for lenders in Ethiopia, where branch penetration remains limited relative to population size. By leveraging agent networks, banks can extend deposit and withdrawal services closer to customers while reducing fixed operating costs.
For M-PESA Ethiopia, the BIRR SHUM initiative is positioned as a framework for integrating banking services into its mobile money rails. The collaboration with mAgents adds operational capacity and structured oversight, addressing challenges such as agent liquidity, transaction monitoring and service consistency.
The arrangement also supports existing M-PESA wallet holders, who will gain expanded access to cash-in and cash-out points, potentially supporting higher transaction frequency and bill payment activity.
Jefferson Wachira is a writer at Africa Digest News, specializing in banking and finance trends, and their impact on African economies.
