Mozambique: More than 5.5 million bank accounts in 2023

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Mozambique: More than 5.5 million bank accounts in 2023

12:58 CAT | 30 Oct 2024

File photo: Banco de Moçambique

The number of bank accounts in Mozambique grew by 4.7% to 5,577,994 last year, led by the capital Maputo where, on average, each person had two accounts, figures from the country’s central bank reveal.

According to the Bank of Mozambique’s financial inclusion report, in 2022 the country had 5,326,096 bank accounts, translating into 306 bank accounts per 1,000 adults. In 2023, the number rose to 309.

“Regarding the geographical analysis, in 2023 the highest level of banking in the economy was observed in the city of Maputo, with around two bank accounts, on average, per adult person,” the report reads.

In the capital, the number of bank accounts per 1,000 adults rose from 2,000 in 2022 to 2,266 last year, but in Zambézia province, in the north, it fell from 116 to 104.

The report adds that the total number of women holding a bank account in Mozambique rose from 190 per 1,000 adults in 2022 to 193 in 2023, while among men the growth was from 414 to 419.

The financial inclusion index, calculated by the central for the 2023 year, stood at 15.13 points, an increase of 1.14 points compared to 2022, with the results arising “fundamentally, from the increase in non-bank agents, bank accounts and electronic money”.

“The prospects for financial inclusion are promising. With the implementation of strategic regulations and innovative projects, the country will be well positioned to achieve comprehensive and sustainable financial inclusion,” the Bank of Mozambique document opines, highlighting the importance of Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) in facilitating the payment of services and transfers via mobile phone.

“The robust infrastructure, especially the interoperability through the single national network (SIMO) between EMIs, and between these institutions and banks and micro-banks, as well as payment service providers, was an essential advance,” the report acknowledges.

According to the central bank, in 2023 there were 15 banks, 14 micro-banks, one investment company, three IMEs (one for each mobile telecommunications operator), four credit unions and one payment service provider operating in Mozambique, in addition to a credit card issuing and management company and eight currency exchange offices.

Source: Lusa