Mozambique: Nyusi inaugurates water system in Dombe
Silvina de Abreu on January 31 2019, Photo: A Verdade
The Bank of Mozambique is continuing to treat as taboo any discussion of the cost of migrating the country’s integrated electronic banking system from Portugal’s BizFirst to North American Euronet, and refuses to indicate how long it will take to complete the process. The parties have to keep the contract “confidential”, the bank’s Director of Communication explains.
Just over two months since the bank’s Interbank (SIMO) ATM and POS network collapsed and a month and a half after the central bank announced its intention to stop using the BizFirst system, provided at a cost to Mozambicans of around US$25 million, SIMO’s main shareholder still refuses to disclose the cost of the new software.
“(…) During the period of validity of the contract, and until 10 years after the termination, the parties have to keep its content confidential, and information sharing is prohibited except in exceptional circumstances and by notification and consent of the other party,” Bank of Mozambique communications director Silvina de Abreu told journalists last month (31-1).
@Verdade has however established that the initial cost laid down by Euronet was approximately US$10 million, subject to the realities US technicians discover during the migration process.
Neither would de Abreu provide any dates or deadlines for the migration, saying only that “the implementation of this system is underway within the programme that was pre-established”. Still, @Verdade estimates that, even if the process proceeds smoothly, it could take 24 months.
By Adérito Caldeira on 01 February 2019
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