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Forum Question Posted By: Replies:
Ethiopia
ATM's in Ethiopia. How much of a pain in the ass are they?
Posted: Sat January 22, 2011 04:25 PM UTC
Am in Khartoum at the moment and will be breaking for the border soonest, I am down to my last few 100 in USD and am planing to use my Visa debit card once in Ethiopia.(HSBC U.K.) As most research I have done seems to indicate that this should not be much of an issue, used it in Kenya and Uganda with no problem I am worried about ATM's working. My first stop after crossing the border will be Gonder, will also be going to the usual places like Bahir Dar, Aksum, Harir and Lailabela and will finish off in Addis. For those of you who live and / or go to Ethiopia often, will ATM's be a big pain in the ass? I really don't want to be the guy hiking all over town with a back pack on my back while being followed by a pack of hustlers and street kids while I look for an ATM that works.

Thanks in advance.

P.S. Any good little out of the way towns I should stop at?
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Ethiopia
Re: ATM's in Ethiopia. How much of a pain in the ass are they?
Posted: Sun January 23, 2011 03:06 AM UTC
Hi. I have been twice in Addis. ATM's in Ethiopia is not like Kenya. But it is a trustful ATM in Sheraton Hotel in Taitu Street, Addis Abeba.

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Ethiopia
Re: ATM's in Ethiopia. How much of a pain in the ass are they?
Posted: Sun January 23, 2011 03:39 AM UTC
I would check with VT memeber "DAO". He tends to stay current on things there. Unless things have changed you need to have some money wired to you. When I was there a few years ago there were two ATMs in Addis that took western bank cards..one in the Sheaton as the above poster just mentioned and in the Marriot which is right next door so to speak. I would carry cash in Ethiopia..contrary to the American Express ads...plastic ain't that popular down there.
Harar is a great place to see..check out the south as most of the places you have listed are on the tourist circut in the North. Ethoipia is very diverse and changes a bit down South. At the very least take a day trip down to Lake Awasa from Addis.

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Ethiopia
Re: ATM's in Ethiopia. How much of a pain in the ass are they?
Posted: Sun January 23, 2011 11:35 AM UTC
Well, they ARE a big pain in the ass. I travel to Ethiopia on a rather regular base, and having a credit card accepted as a payment is a challenge already. I heard that the ATMs of Dashen bank accept debit cards, but havenīt been successful with my card at least. Usually I take cash along when going to Ehtiopia (and the currency exchange offices are picky - never was successful exchanging other African currencies like KES, they only wanted Dollars, Euros, Pounds of Yen). Outside Addis it gets increasingly difficult to find places where they accept credit cards, and the density of ATMs is shrinking as well. At least that goes for rural areas, it might be different at tourist spots. I agree that you best try to have money wired to you if you are running out of cash. One word of comfort: The hustler situation in Ethiopia is considerably less hassling than in other African countries.

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 sphynxxs [Reply]
Ethiopia
Re: ATM's in Ethiopia. How much of a pain in the ass are they?
Posted: Sun February 6, 2011 11:34 AM UTC
Don't worry, I used several of the ATMs of Dashen bank without any trouble.
Most guidebooks still do not mention it, but now you can get cash at ATMs of DASHEN BANK with EC-, VISA- and Master-Card plus PIN in most larger cities. For a list of ATM-locations see under the respective link ("City" for Addis Ababa and "upcountry" for other towns in Ethiopia) at
http://www.dashenbanksc.com/atmnetwork/index.htm

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