Mozambican banks received 1,788 complaints in 2024

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Mozambican banks received 1,788 complaints in 2024

5:24 CAT | 02 Apr 2025

File photo: Lusa

Mozambican banking consumers filed 809 complaints in the second half of last year, mainly involving the two largest banking institutions, controlled by Portuguese banks and with more than one million customers, and bringing the 2024 total to almost 1,800 in.

According to the report by the central bank, to which Lusa had access today, of the total number of complaints received from July to December 2024, Banco Comercial de Investimentos, part of the Caixa Geral de Depósitos group, recorded 269 complaints, with a complaints rate of 12.8, and Millennium BIM, owned by the Portuguese Millennium BCP, recorded 224, with a complaints rate of 10.7.

These are the two largest Mozambican banks and the only ones, according to the central bank, classified as having more than one million customers.

Among the banks with 200,000 to one million customers, Absa Mozambique had a total of 48 complaints (index 23), Standard Bank 49 (10.7) and Moza Banco had 18 (6.9).

According to the same report, 52% (418) of the total complaints filed in this period were about the malfunctioning of ATM machines, namely money not made available but debited from the account; 17% (141) about credit operations; and 14% (112) about bank accounts with undue debits and which had been blocked.

A total of 15 banks, 14 micro-banks, four credit unions, 13 savings and loan organizations, and 2,304 microcredit operators operate in Mozambique, according to previous data from the central bank.

Complaints filed by customers of the banking system had already grown by 38.5% in 2023, to 1,120, according to previous data from the central bank, which reported last November that 808 million meticais (€12 million) had been returned to consumers.

In the central bank’s 2023 annual report, the institution pointed out that from the complaints received and the inspections carried out, “several irregularities were detected”, particularly “in the charging of commissions and charges for financial products and services”.

In addition to issuing “specific determinations and recommendations to ensure compliance with standards and duties of conduct” by credit institutions and financial companies (ICSF), the central bank explains that “approximately 808 million meticais were also recovered and returned to financial consumers”.

Of this total, 62.6%, equivalent to 506 million meticais (€7.5 million), “resulted from undue charges to economic agents contracting POS” (point of sale technology), and 33%, worth 264 million meticais (€3.9 million), “from undue charges of commissions and charges in the contracting and administration of bank credit”.

“In addition, several violations were found related to the implementation of standards and failure by the ICSF to meet deadlines. As a result of these violations, the central bank initiated 13 misdemeanour proceedings, four of which were concluded, with the application of the respective fines,” the institution explained.

Source: Lusa