Merchant Payments Observatory
Research & Outputs
Ground-level evidence on merchant payment behaviour — who's adopting, what's blocking them, and what it means for policy and product.
Published Reports
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Understanding Ethiopia's Merchant Payment Landscape from the Ground Up
The first nationally representative survey of Ethiopia's micro-enterprise merchant population — 2,724 merchants weighted to represent ~500,000 enterprises nationwide. Covers digital payment adoption, readiness conditions, channel architecture, provider concentration, the economics of merchant payments, and the credit access gap. 58.8% of merchants now accept digital payments, but rural adoption sits at 26%, 99% of digital flows land in personal accounts, and connectivity — not cost — is the primary barrier.
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Five Market Opportunities in Ethiopia's Merchant Payment Ecosystem
Ethiopia's merchant payments market has crossed the majority threshold — but acceptance has not yet become value. More than 99% of digital merchant flows still land in personal accounts. This note identifies five commercial opportunities grounded in the baseline data: merchant credit for the missing middle, merchant account migration, rural expansion through low-tech distribution, supplier payment digitisation, and female merchant acquisition — the largest underserved segment. Written for banks, fintechs, telcos, and aggregators.
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MPO Ethiopia Wave 1 — Launch Event Deck
The public launch presentation for Wave 1 findings, delivered on 21 April 2026. Summarises the study methodology, the informality paradox at the heart of Ethiopia's digital payment story, and key findings on adoption, barriers, and provider dynamics. Also outlines the MPO's three-wave longitudinal research programme and planned dissemination activities.
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MPO Ethiopia Wave 1 — Full Findings Deck
The comprehensive 128-slide research deck covering all chapters of the Wave 1 survey: merchant profiles and business context, digital payment readiness, adoption and behaviour, channel utilisation and onboarding, barriers to adoption, the value proposition of digital payments, value-adding services, credit access, and cash-based enterprises. Includes full methodology and data notes.
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Coming 2026
Nigeria Merchant Payments Baseline Survey
The MPO is expanding its nationally representative survey methodology to Nigeria — one of Africa's largest and most dynamic merchant payments markets. The baseline survey will cover digital payment adoption, readiness conditions, provider dynamics, and barriers across Nigeria's diverse merchant population. Findings and reports will be published in 2026.
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