bank · 4 min read
How to Verify a CBE Receipt (Step by Step)
Complete guide to verifying Commercial Bank of Ethiopia receipts. Both the new mbreciept QR system and the old FT reference + account method. Free with cheki.
CBE (Commercial Bank of Ethiopia) is the largest bank in Ethiopia and the most common settlement rail for businesses. There are two ways to verify a CBE receipt, and cheki supports both for free.
Method 1: New CBE receipt system (QR code or URL)
CBE's new receipt sharing system generates a short URL like https://mbreciept.cbe.com.et/fHCxyV4mg5pRIwEkJO. This URL is also encoded as a QR code on the receipt. This is the easiest method because it requires only one piece of information.
Get the receipt link or QR code
Ask the customer to share the receipt link from their CBE app, or scan the QR code on the printed receipt.
Paste the URL in cheki
Open chekiapp.vercel.app, switch to the 'Receipt URL' tab, and paste the mbreciept.cbe.com.et link. Or scan the QR code directly with cheki's camera scanner.
Click Verify
cheki calls CBE's JSON API and returns the transaction data in under 2 seconds. You'll see the FT reference, amount, sender, receiver, and date.
Easiest method
The new system doesn't require an account number. Just paste the link or scan the QR code. The API returns masked account numbers for privacy.
Method 2: Classic CBE receipt (FT reference + account)
If you don't have the receipt link, you can verify using the FT reference number and your receiving account number. This uses CBE's older PDF endpoint.
Get the FT reference number
Ask the customer for the FT reference from their receipt. It starts with 'FT' followed by 10 characters, e.g. FT26140P01YB.
Get your account number
You need the last 8 digits of your receiving CBE account. For example, if your account is 1000560536171, the last 8 digits are 60536171.
Enter both in cheki
Select CBE from the bank dropdown, enter the FT reference, and enter the account digits. cheki constructs the URL and fetches the PDF receipt.
Review the result
cheki parses the PDF and returns the sender name, receiver name, amount, date, and branch.
What information do you need?
| Method | Required info | Example |
|---|---|---|
| New (URL/QR) | Receipt link or QR scan | https://mbreciept.cbe.com.et/fHCxyV4mg5pRIwEkJO |
| Classic (FT ref) | FT reference + last 8 digits of account | FT26140P01YB + 60536171 |
What the receipt contains
A verified CBE receipt includes:
- Transaction reference (FT number)
- Transferred amount in ETB
- Payer (sender) name and account
- Receiver name and account
- Payment date and time
- Branch name
- Reason / type of service
Verifying CBE receipts via API
# New system (URL):
curl -X POST https://chekiapp.vercel.app/api/verify \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"reference":"https://mbreciept.cbe.com.et/fHCxyV4mg5pRIwEkJO"}'
# Classic system (FT ref + account):
curl -X POST https://chekiapp.vercel.app/api/verify \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"bank":"cbe","reference":"FT26140P01YB","accountNumber":"1000560536171"}'Both methods are free
Both the new QR/URL system and the classic FT reference method are free with cheki. check.et charges 499 ETB/month for the same data after 200 free verifications.