telebirr, CBE Birr or Chapa: which mobile payment option do you actually use, and for what?

Digital money in Ethiopia now has several lanes, and they are not the same thing. Here is how they compare. telebirr (Ethio telecom) - Launched as mobile money and later turned into a "super app" with bill payments, transport, e-commerce, entertainment and remittances. - Ethio telecom's 2022/23 annual report put it at about 34.3 million subscribers. Treat that as a dated figure. - Banks are integrated so you can move money between a bank account and your wallet. Reports disagree on the exact number of banks, so check the app for yours. CBE Birr (Commercial Bank of Ethiopia) - A mobile money wallet you open at an agent or CBE branch, or self-register in the app with an ID and photo. - Dial *847# for CBE Birr. The separate CBE mobile banking USSD is *889#. Do not mix them up. - CBE lists send money, cash out, airtime, bill payments, fuel and school fee payments among its services. Chapa - Not a wallet for everyday people but a payment gateway for businesses. It was licensed by the National Bank of Ethiopia in May 2022 and went live on 17 August 2022. - If you run an online shop or a service, this is the layer that lets customers pay by local methods on your website. Fees, limits and which banks connect change often. Check the app or your bank for current numbers. Your turn: which one do you use most, where does it fail you (agents, network, merchant acceptance), and what tip would you give a newcomer or a diaspora relative sending money home?