Mela Finance Inc. has officially launched Mela, a digital banking and financial platform designed for members of the Ethiopian diaspora, initially focusing on financial services connecting the United States and Ethiopia.

The public launch follows an early beta period and introduces services including U.S. banking access, direct deposit and payroll, digital money management, bank account linking, and licensed transfers to bank accounts in Ethiopia.

Mela said the platform was created to address the fragmented financial experience faced by Ethiopians living abroad, who often rely on different providers for everyday banking, remittances, savings, family support and other financial needs.

At launch, eligible customers can open a U.S. account with no monthly maintenance fee, receive payroll and direct deposits, link existing bank accounts and send money to bank accounts across Ethiopia. Customer support is offered in English, Amharic, Oromigna and Tigrinya.

The company is positioning its remittance service as a formal alternative for diaspora customers sending money to Ethiopia. Mela Finance Inc. is included on the National Bank of Ethiopia’s list of licensed money transfer institutions as of August 7, 2026.

Mela said transfer rates, processing times and transaction limits vary depending on the transaction and applicable terms.

“Our community has never lacked discipline, ambition or responsibility. It has lacked a financial system designed around those responsibilities,” said Aelaf Mideksa, CEO and co-founder of Mela. “Mela is empowering our community one financial service at a time.”

The company said its broader roadmap includes digital Equb tools, community and merchant payments, and financial products aimed at supporting homeownership and mortgages. These services are not broadly available at the public launch.

Mela was founded in 2024 by a team with more than 16 years of experience living in the United States. The company says its founders’ experiences navigating financial services across the U.S.-Ethiopia corridor influenced the development of the platform.

Mela Finance Inc. is a U.S.-domiciled financial technology company. It provides U.S. financial services through a banking-as-a-service sponsorship arrangement and is not itself a chartered bank.

The company’s initial focus is the financial corridor between the United States and Ethiopia.