Guides and articles

Practical guides on Ethiopian receipt verification, payment fraud, API integration, and open source fintech. No paywall, no fluff.

14 articles

Comparisons9 min

Ethiopian Receipt Verification Services: The Full Comparison

Six services, all using the same public bank endpoints. One is free and open source, the rest charge 500-8,000 ETB/month. Here's the evidence.

Jun 20, 2026Read →
Open Source5 min

Help translate cheki into your language

Translate cheki's interface into your language. No coding required. English and Amharic are live; we need Oromiffa, Tigrinya, Somali, and more.

Jun 20, 2026Read →
Technical6 min

BOA QR Codes: Encrypted Receipts and How Decryption Works

BOA's receipt QR codes are AES-256-CBC encrypted payloads using CryptoJS format. The key is public in BOA's web app. Here's the full technical breakdown of how decryption works and why it matters for inter-bank transfers.

Jun 19, 2026Read →
Open Source5 min

How to Add a New Bank to cheki (Community Guide)

18 Ethiopian banks still need receipt endpoints. You can help by sharing a receipt, writing a parser, or reporting broken endpoints. Here's the complete community contribution guide.

Jun 19, 2026Read →
Banks4 min

CBE Receipt QR Codes: What They Contain and How to Scan Them

CBE launched a new receipt sharing system at mbreciept.cbe.com.et. Here's what the QR codes contain, how the API works, and why it makes verification easier.

Jun 18, 2026Read →
Comparisons5 min

Free Ethiopian Receipt Verification Without API Keys or Signup

check.et charges 499 ETB/month after 200 free verifications. verify.et charges $20+/month. Both use the same public bank endpoints cheki uses for free. Here's the complete guide to free verification.

Jun 18, 2026Read →
Fraud7 min

How Payment Fraud Works in Ethiopia (and How to Stop It)

Payment fraud costs Ethiopian businesses millions every year. Here are the specific tactics fraudsters use and exactly how to catch each one.

Jun 18, 2026Read →
Technical6 min

Ethiopian Bank Receipt Formats: A Complete Reference

The definitive reference for Ethiopian bank receipt formats. Reference patterns, endpoint URLs, required fields, and response types for all 11 banks and wallets.

Jun 18, 2026Read →
Technical5 min

Self-Hosting cheki with Docker: Complete Guide

Self-hosting cheki gives you full control, zero cost, and bypasses Telebirr/M-Pesa geo-blocking. Here's the complete Docker setup guide.

Jun 18, 2026Read →
API8 min

Building a Payment Verification System with cheki's Free API

From cURL to production: everything you need to integrate free Ethiopian receipt verification into your application.

Jun 18, 2026Read →
Open Source5 min

Open Source Ethiopian Fintech: Why It Matters

Ethiopian fintech is dominated by paid services wrapping public data. Open source changes the equation. Here's why community-built tools like cheki matter.

Jun 18, 2026Read →
Banks4 min

How to Verify a CBE Receipt (Step by Step)

Two ways to verify CBE receipts: the new QR/URL system and the classic FT reference + account method. Both are free with cheki.

Jun 18, 2026Read →
Banks4 min

How to Verify a Telebirr Receipt (Step by Step)

Telebirr is Ethiopia's most used mobile wallet. Here's how to verify any Telebirr transaction for free, including what to do about geo-blocking.

Jun 18, 2026Read →
Banks3 min

How to Verify a Bank of Abyssinia (BOA) Receipt

BOA verification is simple with cheki's direct JSON API. No Selenium, no headless browser, just the reference and last 5 digits of your account. QR codes for inter-bank transfers.

Jun 18, 2026Read →