Licensed forex bureaus in Ethiopia: the full list

From the National Bank of Ethiopia's register of independent forex bureaus, as it stood on 26 October 2026. The register gives no address or website for any of them, so call before you travel to confirm where they are and that they are open.

The first licences were issued in September and October 2024, and the register shows two more in 2026 - Grace General in February and Walia in May. The bureaus are an established part of the system: in June 2026 the UNDP noted the NBE had raised how much cash they may hold, to 25 percent of paid-up capital from 10.

The NBE's rules, set out when it issued the first licences (announcement), keep bureaus to a narrow job:

• Cash only. They buy and sell banknotes of major currencies, on the spot. No transfers, and no letters of credit or other trade payments - those stay with the banks.
• Buying from you: up to 10,000 US dollars without a customs declaration, more if you have one.
• Selling to you: to travellers with travel documents - up to 5,000 dollars for personal travel, 10,000 for business travel.
• Posted rates. They must display their buying and selling rates prominently.
• A receipt for every transaction, which you are entitled to.

Each bureau sets its own rates and posts them at the counter. ET-Forex does not collect bureau rates yet, so the useful comparison is against the banks, which it does. On 26 October 2026 the best bank pays 164.52 birr for a dollar in cash, at Buna Bank, and the cheapest charges 164.10, at Dashen Bank. Check a bureau's board against the bank rates, and ask whether any fee applies on top, before you hand over cash.