Mozambique has more than 200,000 Electronic Money Institution (EMI) agents, which operate through mobile telecoms operators, up 37% in one year, according to official figures.
According to a statistical report from the Bank of Mozambique (BoM), to which Lusa had access this Thursday, 23 November, the total number of EMI agents at the end of 2022 was 147,519, a figure that grew in just nine months of this year to 203,240.
The country currently has three Electronic Money Institutions, associated with three mobile telecoms operators, which provide financial services via mobile phone, including money transfers between customers or payment for services.
This is a solution that makes it easier and more widespread for the population to access financial services, simply by using a mobile phone.
Meanwhile, in its budget proposal for 2024, which is already before Parliament, the Mozambican government plans to continue its fiscal policy reforms to “increase the level of revenue collected”, in particular by “taxing the commissions of electronic money agents and institutions”.
Tmcel’s mKesh mobile wallet was the first to be created in Mozambique in 2012, followed by Vodacom’s M-Pesa in 2013 and Movitel’s e-Mola the following year.
At the end of September, the city of Maputo alone had 32,044 of these agents providing these services on the street, almost triple the number in 2018.
According to BdM data, five years ago the country had 43,125 electronic money institution agents.
