"I've sent it." Then a screenshot arrives.
To know the money is real, you have to ask the bank. The good news: every Ethiopian bank and wallet publishes each receipt on a public web page, with no login needed. The annoying part: every bank wants something slightly different to find it.
This guide is the cheat sheet. For each bank: what to ask the sender for, and the one mistake that trips people up. (All examples are made up.)
The short version
Ask for the QR code or the receipt link, not a screenshot and not just a number. The QR and the link carry everything the bank needs. A bare reference number often isn't enough, because several banks also want the last digits of an account, and that's where most failed checks come from.
| Bank | Best thing to ask for | If you only have a number |
|---|---|---|
| CBE | Receipt link or QR | FT reference plus last 8 digits of the receiving account |
| Telebirr | SMS link or QR | 10-character transaction number works alone |
| Bank of Abyssinia | Slip link or QR | Reference plus last 5 digits of the account |
| Dashen | FT Ref | The 16-character FT Ref works alone |
| Awash | The full share link | Can't be rebuilt from a number |
| CBE Birr | Receipt link or QR | Receipt number plus the payer's phone |
| M-Pesa | Transaction number | Works alone |
| eBirr / Siinqee | The full link | Can't be rebuilt from a number |
| ZamZam | The receipt link | The number at the end of the link, not the printed reference |
Then, whatever the bank, check three things: the amount, the receiver, and the date. A real receipt to someone else's account is still not your money. And keep a list of references you've accepted, because a real receipt shown twice passes every other check.
CBE (Commercial Bank of Ethiopia)
Ask for: the receipt link from the CBE app, or its QR.
New receipts come as a link like https://mbreciept.cbe.com.et/fHCxExampleRcpt01. That ending is the Receipt ID, and it's all CBE needs. (Yes, CBE spells it "reciept".)
Watch out: older receipts only show an FT reference, like FT26SAMPLE01. Those need the last 8 digits of the receiving account too, and they go through CBE's older receipt service, which often doesn't answer. If an FT check stalls, ask for the link from the app instead.
Telebirr
Ask for: the link in the SMS, the QR, or the transaction number.
The number is 10 letters and digits, starting with a short prefix like DET, CHQ, DAB, DEL or ADQ (for example DET0SAMPLE). The receipt lives at https://transactioninfo.ethiotelecom.et/receipt/ plus that number.
Watch out: Telebirr's page only opens on Ethiopian networks. On your phone with Ethiopian data it's fine. Abroad or on a VPN it won't load. That's why cheki.et, hosted outside Ethiopia, hands Telebirr checks to your phone's browser with a one-tap button.
Bank of Abyssinia (BOA)
Ask for: the slip link or the QR.
A BOA link looks like https://cs.bankofabyssinia.com/slip/?trx=FT26SAMPLE0712345: the reference (FT26SAMPLE07) with five account digits (12345) glued on the end. BOA needs both, which is why the link or QR beats typing.
Watch out: if the receiving account's digits aren't found, try the last 5 digits of the account the money came from. BOA files some receipts that way. Transfers from BOA to other banks carry an encrypted QR. cheki.et decodes it and then asks BOA to confirm. If BOA can't be reached, the result says "decoded only", which is not verified. QRs can be copied, so don't hand over goods on that.
Dashen Bank
Ask for: the FT Ref.
It's 16 characters, like B22WDTI00SAMPLE1. It works on its own, with no account number.
Watch out: Dashen receipts also show a longer "Transaction Ref". That one won't find anything. If a Dashen check says "not found", this is almost always why.
Awash Bank
Ask for: the whole link from the Awash SMS or app, copied rather than retyped.
It looks like https://awashpay.awashbank.com:8225/-2SAMPLE0X1-4U0000. Both parts after the dashes matter, and you can't rebuild the link from the transaction number alone.
Watch out: one mistyped character and the check fails. Copy and paste.
CBE Birr
Ask for: the receipt link or QR. Failing that, the receipt number (TID) and the payer's phone number.
CBE Birr is CBE's mobile wallet, separate from the CBE banking app. The TID is 10 or 11 characters, like DTS41AB2C90.
Watch out: it needs the payer's phone, not yours. An empty result usually means the number and phone don't match. On cheki.et this bank is in beta: confirmed on real wallet and bank transfers, not yet on merchant, airtime or bill payments.
M-Pesa Ethiopia
Ask for: the transaction number from the M-Pesa SMS (usually two letters and six or more digits, like SE12345678).
Watch out: like Telebirr, it only answers on Ethiopian networks. It's in beta on cheki.et, as it hasn't been confirmed on a real receipt yet. If you have one that fails, a report helps.
eBirr and Siinqee Bank
Ask for: the full receipt link, like receipt.ebirr.com/nib/abc123def.
The first part after the slash names the institution. Siinqee uses the same platform under receipt.ebirr.com/siinqee/…. Support for other eBirr partner banks (Nib, Wegagen, Ahadu, KAAFI) is still in development on cheki.
ZamZam Bank
Ask for: the receipt link, like https://receipt.zamzambank.com.et/receipt/12345678.
Watch out: the 8-digit number at the end of the link is what finds the receipt, not the reference printed on it. That mix-up causes most failed ZamZam checks. Beta on cheki.et.
Not on the list yet?
cheki.et has 10 banks and wallets live today. Zemen, Nib, Wegagen, Ahadu, KAAFI and others are on the banks page as in development. Each goes live once a real receipt confirms it. Until then, use the bank's own receipt page or check your balance. For every bank's receipt address in one place, see Ethiopian bank receipt formats.
"Not found" doesn't always mean fake
Most failed checks are real payments checked with the wrong piece of information. Before you call it fake, run through this:
| Bank | Usual mix-up |
|---|---|
| CBE | FT reference without the account digits. Ask for the link. |
| Telebirr | A tight crop cut off the last character. It should be 10. |
| BOA | Wrong 5 digits. Try the sender's account. |
| Dashen | The long Transaction Ref instead of the 16-character FT Ref. |
| Awash | A retyped link with a typo. |
| CBE Birr | Your phone instead of the payer's. |
| ZamZam | The printed reference instead of the link's number. |
Still not found with the right information? Treat it as unpaid until the money shows up in your account.
Skip the cheat sheet
Remembering ten banks' quirks is a lot. A checker does it for you. On cheki.et, scan the receipt's QR with your phone camera or paste the link, and it works out the bank, asks it, and shows what the bank has on record. It only shows green when the bank itself confirmed. A decoded QR or a bank that didn't answer never counts.
Other checkers, like check.et, verify.et and Veritas, read the same public pages, so the tips above apply whichever you use.
Why cheki is free, and why that matters
The banks publish every receipt for free, yet checking them is often sold back to businesses as monthly plans and per-check fees. cheki started from a simple idea: you shouldn't pay to read a page your own bank already made public.
So it's open source under the MIT license, with no signup, no key and no database. The website, the API, every bank's parser and SDKs for five languages live in one public repo at github.com/1RB/cheki.
That openness keeps it working. Banks change their receipt pages without warning, and the people who notice first are the shops and developers using them. With the code public, whoever spots a break can fix it, and anyone can add a missing bank with the add-a-bank guide. Got a real receipt that fails? Open an issue with personal details removed.
cheki isn't affiliated with any bank or Ethio Telecom.
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