Number of Mozambicans with a bank account rises 26% in decade

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Number of Mozambicans with a bank account rises 26% in decade

12:08 CAT | 29 Aug 2023

FILE - According to the central bank, in June this year 18.5 out of 100 adult women had a bank account; for men, this ratio stood at 40.9. [ File photo: Lusa]

More than 30 adults out of every 100 in Mozambique have a bank account, an increase of 26% in the space of a decade – a period in which the number of bank branches across the country, relative to population, has practically stagnated, official figures show.

According to data from this month’s statistical report by the central bank, the Bank of Mozambique, compiled on Monday by Lusa, in June of this year the country’s commercial banks had the equivalent of 30.1 bank accounts for every 100 adults, compared to 23.9 in 2013. However, the highest record in this ratio was reached in June 2017, with 36.2 bank accounts per 100 adults.

Still according to the central bank, in June this year 18.5 out of 100 adult women had a bank account; for men, this ratio stood at 40.9.

The number of bank branches, according to the same data, remained practically unchanged between 2013, when it was 4.0 per 100 adults, and the end of the first half of this year, when it was 3.9.

The number of bank cards issued in Mozambique in the same 10-year period rose from 23.8 per 100 adults in 2013 to 18.4 last June.

The number of automatic teller machines (ATMs) grew slightly to a ratio of 8.3 available per 100 adults, compared to 8.1 in 2013, while point-of-sale payment terminals (POS) soared to 209.2, compared to 87.8 per 100 adults in 2013.

The same Bank of Mozambique report concludes that 80% of the country’s 154 districts were covered by ATMs, compared to less than half (49.2%) a decade ago.

According to data from the central bank, 15 commercial banks and 12 microbanks operate in Mozambique, as well as credit cooperatives and savings and credit organisations, among others.

Source: Lusa