Mozambique does not yet have specific legislation regulating the use of cloud data storage services by institutions in the national financial system.
The Bank of Mozambique (BoM) made this observation in response to a request for clarification from the Confederation of Economic Associations (CTA) on data sovereignty and the use of this new type of storage.
The financial regulator clarified that, despite the absence of specific legislation, credit institutions and financial companies must continue to comply with the provisions of the Credit Institutions and Financial Companies Act (LICSF), as well as the Electronic Transactions Act, with the aim of protecting the data under their responsibility.
The BdM also highlighted the regulation on the data processing centres of credit institutions and financial companies, which requires them to maintain their data processing centres on national territory.
‘Article 5(1) of this notice stipulates that ICSF replication centres must have the same resources as primary data processing centres. They can be located inside or outside national territory, as long as there are no legal conflicts and the difference in time zones does not compromise the operation of the ICSFs,’ the BdM emphasised.
The central bank also reiterated that it is attentive to the process of digitising the financial sector, seeking to ensure compliance with regulations, while taking into account the limitations of infrastructures and the costs associated with compliance.
‘In this context, as regulator and supervisor of the financial system, the BdM has adopted measures to accompany the digital transformation in the sector, with due precautions, in order to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, availability and accessibility of the data and financial services transacted,’ the institution concluded.
