Foreign exchange guide to Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Birr (ETB)
What's in this Ethiopia currency guide?
ETB News, Forecasts and Trends
The below interactive chart shows the USD to ETB exchange rate, trend and recent alerts for the last 90 days.
90-DAY-HI (1d)
USD/ETB at 33.95 was trading 2.9% above AVG:32.98 with LO:31.91 and HI:34.11 (90 days). There are no current rate alerts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What currency should I use in Ethiopia?
The domestic currency in Ethiopia is the Ethiopian Birr.
What is the Ethiopian Birr currency code and symbol?
The three letter currency code for the Ethiopian Birr is ETB — symbol is Br.
Which countries use the Ethiopian Birr?
It is the domestic currency in Ethiopia.
Is the Ethiopian Birr a closed currency?
Yes the Ethiopian Birr is a closed currency. Which means that you may find it difficult to purchase the currency (ETB) before departure and will probably need to buy it upon arrival. If you do manage to buy some of the currency or have some left over from a previous trip, make sure you are aware if you are allowed to bring this closed currency into the country.
For more information and a full list of closed currencies please refer to our guide: What is a closed currency?
Travel, Currency and Money saving tips for Ethiopia
Travel money for Ethiopia
As mentioned above, the Ethiopian Birr is a closed currency. Which means that you may find it difficult (or be permitted) to purchase the currency (ETB) before departure and will need to buy it upon arrival in Ethiopia.
For these types of destinations, using a pre-paid travel card is a good solution. As no travel cards support loading closed currencies like the ETB you will incur currency conversion or foreign transaction fees if you use a travel money card in Ethiopia.
However, using a pre-paid travel card is still a good idea as you can avoid ATM fees and also you can avoid using (and losing!) your main bank or debit/credit card.
Sending money to Ethiopia
When searching around for information on how to get a good exchange rate when sending money to Ethiopia you need to start with finding out the latest Ethiopian Birr foreign-transfer exchange rate.
Then compare your bank's exchange rates to several licensed FX providers exchange rate and fees to see how much you can save (we make that calculation easy here).
Get a better deal for foreign transfers to Ethiopia
When sending money to Ethiopia it’s important to compare your bank’s rates & fees with those we have negotiated with our partner money transfer providers. To get a better deal you should follow these 4 simple steps :
- Open an account with a BER reviewed FX provider (id docs may be required)
- You specify the local or Ethiopian Birr amount you want to transfer
- Make a local currency domestic transfer for the requested amount to the provider's bank account in your country
- Once your funds are received by the provider the converted ETB amount will be transfered to the recipient account you specify in Ethiopia.
Use our Send to Ethiopian Birr calculator to compare the exchange rates of FX specialist providers rates versus your bank's standard rates you can hopefully save around 5% and maybe more - end result is more Ethiopian Birr deposited into the recipient bank account and less margins and fees kept by the banks!