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E&M Magazine: ‘Mobile Solutions Will Be Key to Reducing the Financial Divide’

E&M Magazine: ‘Mobile Solutions Will Be Key to Reducing the Financial Divide’

Millennium bim, like the other banks, also says it is focused on the digitalisation of services and warns that banking is changing and that processes will be completely different in the near future.

The latest reports on financial inclusion show a slowdown in the number of new branches and a drop in payment terminals, which means that financial institutions are increasingly committed to digitalisation. How are they doing it?

Millennium bim, a pioneer in digital solutions in the Mozambican banking sector, has digitalisation as one of the central pillars of its strategy. Faced with a reduction in the number of new branches and payment terminals (ATMs), the bank has invested heavily in digital innovation to expand its services and improve accessibility. In 2023, more than 70% of Millennium bim’s customers regularly used digital platforms, which reflects the impact of its digitalisation strategy. The Mobile Banking platform, which is a notable example of innovation, has seen a significant increase in users, from 791,000 in 2022 to 855,000 in December 2023, representing growth of approximately 8%. In addition, the platform offers electricity, telephone and television top-up services, more than 90 per cent of which are carried out digitally, reflecting customers’ growing dependence on the bank’s digital services. The platform, with more than 250,000 active customers, has also been constantly updated to offer an increasingly user-friendly, simple and accessible experience. Among the updates are the introduction of new products, such as Salary Credit and Microcredit, which allow customers to apply for credit directly through the application with automatic and fast processing, and with funds available in less than 24 hours.

How is your institution using digital innovation to improve financial inclusion?

Millennium bim has a significant presence in rural areas, with 63 branches, which represent 32 per cent of the total network. However, the real transformation is taking place through the digital strategy, which allows customers, regardless of location, to access banking services through Mobile Banking and Internet Banking. In this context, the Smart IZI platform has played a central role in promoting financial inclusion. With features such as interoperability with all mobile money operators (M-Pesa, e-Mola, and mKesh), Smart IZI enables transfers between bank accounts and all mobile wallets in Mozambique, a crucial service for rural communities where access to physical banks is limited. In 2023, Smart IZI recorded more than 10 million mobile transactions per month, reinforcing its position as one of the most widely used digital platforms in the country. In addition, in 2023, IZI Microcredit registered more than 1.65 million operations, totalling around 3.7 billion meticals in disbursements.

What are the main barriers you identify to implementing digital inclusion solutions in Mozambique and how do you intend to overcome them?

The main barriers to digital inclusion in Mozambique include low digital literacy and limited infrastructure in more remote regions. To tackle these challenges, Millennium bim has invested on several fronts. Firstly, the bank has promoted financial and digital education through specific programmes, seeking to increase the literacy of its customers so that they can make better use of digital services. In addition, strategic partnerships with mobile money operators such as M-Pesa, e-Mola and mKesh have been essential in overcoming the lack of banking infrastructure in remote areas.

What effect will new technologies have on reducing the financial and digital divide?

We believe that digital wallet and mobile payment technologies will play a crucial role in reducing the financial and digital divide in the coming years.

Text: Pedro Cativelos – Photo: D.R.

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