Sending money to Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania

East Africa is often lumped together, but sending money to Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania is really three jobs. In Ethiopia the main thing to understand is a recent change in how the birr is priced. In Uganda and Tanzania the main thing is how people actually receive money: often on a phone. This guide takes you through the shared steps first, then the quirks of each country.

Step 1: Ask how your recipient wants to be paid

Before you look at a single price, send one message: “Bank account, mobile money, or cash pickup?”

That answer decides which providers are even possible. A recipient with a bank account can take a bank transfer. A recipient with a mobile-money wallet can be paid straight to it, often within minutes. Someone with neither will have to collect cash at an agent, show ID, and possibly travel to do it.

Cash is where the highest prices tend to sit. Look at the World Bank’s Remittance Prices Worldwide figures for the third quarter of 2025, covering a USD 200-equivalent send from the United Kingdom:

On all three pages the dearest listing was a cash pickup at an agent. The cheapest in Uganda and Tanzania was a card-funded digital service paid into a mobile wallet; in Ethiopia it was a digital provider paying to a bank account, among other options. The averages sit in the middle, but you don’t have to land on the average. The gap between best and worst is the point.

Step 2: Ethiopia, where the rate changed shape in 2024

Until mid-2024, Ethiopia had a large gap between the official birr rate and the rate on the street. In July 2024 the government moved to market-determined exchange rates, according to the World Bank’s country overview, which also says the gap between official and parallel rates has narrowed from over 100% to around 15%, still with occasional spikes. (The page does not date the 15% figure, so treat it as a rough guide and not a live number.)

The National Bank of Ethiopia’s own FAQ, tied to Directive FXD/01/2024, adds the practical rules. Banks and authorised dealers set their own exchange rates. The central bank publishes a daily indicative rate for transparency only, and has told banks the buy-sell spread should generally stay within 2%. Banks must post their buying and selling rates daily.

Two things follow for a sender.

First, the rate differs from bank to bank, so the destination bank’s own rate matters. Second, the same FAQ says only authorised representatives can provide remittance services: banks, the Ethiopian Postal Service, telecom companies, payment system operators and other approved entities, each needing central-bank approval of its agreement with an international remittance service provider. In plain terms, a licensed route exists, and it’s the one you should use. The National Bank of Ethiopia’s directives list shows two amendments to that directive in 2026 (11 February and 25 May), and the FAQ page itself was last edited in January 2025, so details can shift. Check the current text before relying on any single rule.

A quick piece of arithmetic on that 2% guidance. A bank that buys dollars at 100 birr and sells at 102 has a 2% spread. If that spread is centred on the true middle rate (an assumption, since banks don’t have to centre it), a recipient converting incoming dollars at the bank’s buying rate gives up about 1% against the middle, roughly 1 birr in 100. That’s small next to the 14.58% worst case in the table, but it’s still money, so ask the recipient which bank rate applies on the day.

Foreign-currency accounts are the other thing to know about. The FAQ says residents who receive bank transfers from abroad can open one, with a minimum opening deposit of USD 100, though such accounts can’t be used for imports. Dollars or birr is a decision for the recipient and their bank.

What the old street gap would have meant

Why does the old street rate still tempt people? Let’s use made-up numbers. Say the official rate is 140 birr per dollar (illustrative) and the street rate is 15% higher, 161 birr. Sending US$300 would give 42,000 birr officially, or 48,300 on the street. That is 6,300 birr more.

It looks like a bargain, and it’s the same pull that has drawn senders to back-room agents in many countries. The catch is that you step outside every protection. If the person at the other end doesn’t pay out, there’s no regulator to call. Our piece on sending money safely covers the pattern. You can follow the official market level on USD to ETB or GBP to ETB. Rates refreshed hourly.

Step 3: Uganda and the phone wallet

Uganda is the clearest example of why the first question matters. MTN Uganda’s page on international remittances to its mobile-money service says receiving money from abroad is free of charge for the recipient, shows a long roll of authorised transfer partners, and states a cap of 5 million per transaction and 20 million per day (currency not stated on the page). We haven’t confirmed the same terms across operators, so ask your recipient which wallet they use and check the partner list on that operator’s page.

Another illustration with invented numbers. Say the mid-market rate is 4,700 Ugandan shillings to the pound (made-up) and you’re sending £150.

A digital service charges £1.50 and takes a 1.5% margin: (150 – 1.50) x 4,700 x 0.985 = about 687,481 shillings. A cash pickup with an 8% total cost lands about 648,600. At the mid-market rate £150 would be worth 705,000. The cash option leaves about 38,881 shillings less than the wallet option, or roughly £8.27. The eight percent figure is invented, but the table above shows it’s well within the real range.

Compare live rates on GBP to UGX before you start.

Step 4: Tanzania, where the regulator is the Bank of Tanzania

In Tanzania the Bank of Tanzania oversees payment systems under the National Payment Systems Act of 2015, and it publishes a list of licensed money transaction companies. That list is the first place to check a provider you haven’t used before.

The bank also publishes daily exchange rates. For the 3 November 2026 trade date its page showed US dollar buy at 2,626.87 and sell at 2,653.14 Tanzanian shillings. The gap between the two is about 1%, which gives you a feel for what an official buy-sell spread looks like before any retail provider adds its own margin. Retail providers usually show a rate that’s further from the middle than that. Check GBP to TZS to see where the mid-market sits.

For mobile-money users, ask your recipient which wallet they have and whether the sending service pays into it directly. A transfer to a wallet and a transfer to a bank account are different products with different fees. For how this plays out in neighbouring Kenya, see sending money to Ghana and Kenya.

Step 5: Compare the shilling or birr that lands

Whichever country, run the same test. Put the same amount into two or three services. Ignore the fee. Note the amount in birr or shillings your recipient would receive, and divide by the mid-market figure you looked up. The result tells you the real cost. Our guide to spotting a bad transfer deal lists the usual tricks, such as “no fee” offers with a poor rate.

Then check four small things before you send:

1. The recipient’s name matches the bank, wallet or ID record.
2. The wallet number or account number matches a screenshot from them.
3. The screen shows the amount in local currency, and you’ve saved it.
4. You have the reference, and so do they.

If a transfer stalls, the stuck-transfer guide tells you where to start. Rules and prices here change, and none of this is financial or legal advice, so confirm details with your provider.

Sources

• Remittance Prices Worldwide: United Kingdom to Ethiopia (World Bank)
• Remittance Prices Worldwide: United Kingdom to Uganda (World Bank)
• Remittance Prices Worldwide: United Kingdom to Tanzania (World Bank)
• Ethiopia country overview (World Bank)
• Foreign exchange FAQ, Directive FXD/01/2024 (National Bank of Ethiopia)
• Directives list (National Bank of Ethiopia)
• International remittances (MTN Mobile Money Uganda)
• Bank of Tanzania, payment systems and exchange rates

Checked: November 2026