A new notice dated December 2 imposes limits on foreign payments using bank cards, applicable to all credit institutions and individual or corporate cardholders with cards issued in Mozambique, regardless of their residency status.
The notice comes amid ongoing complaints about a lack of access to foreign currency in Mozambican commercial banks, causing import difficulties for businesses. There have been reports of credit card use abroad for some imports, although some banks no longer permit this.
Individuals and companies may only make foreign payments using bank cards up to an annual limit equivalent to 6,000,000 meticais, regardless of the number of credit contracts, bank cards, and payment channels, including cash withdrawals.
The Bank of Mozambique may set different limits on a case-by-case basis with a duly substantiated request, but these limits should not exceed the six million meticais cap.
On social media, citizens ironically offer to share their unused annual limit of six million meticais, set by the central bank, for a commission.
Lack of foreign currency has concerned Mozambican businesses for months, as voiced by Álvaro Massingue, president of the Confederation of Economic Associations (CTA) of Mozambique.
“The shortage of foreign currency is an economic emergency. Without foreign currency, companies cannot import raw materials, fulfill contracts, or grow. The state should ensure priority access to foreign currency for manufacturing and exporting companies and create incentives for exporters and import substitution,” Massingue stated on November 12 at the opening of the XX Annual Private Sector Conference (CASP), the country’s largest public-private dialogue and business events.
