Concentration of economic activity in urban regions hinders banking
(AIM) – Mozambique’s Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, Carla Louveira, has acknowledged that the concentration of economic activity in urban areas, particularly Maputo and Matola, hinders banking in other parts of Mozambique.
“The limited penetration of bank branches and agents outside urban areas due to, among other factors, commercial viability issues and lack of essential infrastructure (roads, electricity, and telecommunications services), contributes to the delay in extending bank services”, said Louveira, speaking during a reflection on the prospects for investment and financing the economy.
According to the Deputy Minister, the geographical expansion of commercial banks to certain districts is unattractive due to low profitability, compromising the executive’s efforts for greater financial inclusion.
Regarding Electronic Currency, she said, in 2022 the country had about 68.5 percent of its adult population with an open e-money account, compared to 67.2 percent in 2021.
When it comes to coverage by type of access points, she claimed, the country has 93 per cent coverage by POS (Point of Sale), followed by ATMs with 81 percent coverage, bank branches with 79 percent and the bank agents with 71 percent coverage.
The source assured that 2022 saw an increase in the number of banking transactions per thousand adults, rising to 1,292 transactions per thousand adults, compared to 980 transactions per thousand adults in 2021, resulting from the increased use of some of the channels for conducting electronic payment transactions.
“Service payment transactions grew by about three percentage points in 2022, and deposit and withdrawal transactions reduced by one percentage point”, she noted.
As challenges for the financial inclusion process, Louveira pointed to the lack of identification documents on the part of people who are in low-income groups, and beneficiaries of social protection programs.
(AIM)
