In some emerging economies, mobile money has proved a goldmine for operators, and services continue to expand. Once, these were mainly focused on simple SMS-based payments systems for customers with featurephones and no bank accounts. While services for the ‘unbanked’ remain important, major offerings such as Vodafone’s m-Pesa have grown to offer a full portfolio of offerings including savings and credit. In Ethiopia, where Ethio Telecom will soon face competition for the first time as the government awards new licences, the incumbent is launching its first mobile money services, presumably to help strengthen itself against the future new entrants. Its service, TeleBirr, will allow customers to send and receive money, including from abroad, to deposit or withdraw cash from appointed…