Electronic banking blackout is over

The electronic banking blackout in Mozambique is over.

ATMs, point-of-sale technology and debit and credit cards issued by Mozambican banks are operating again, bringing to an end the blackout which started last Friday, Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario has announced.

“An immediate solution was found,” and “the situation is normalised,” the prime minister said at the opening of the questions-to-government session in the Assembly of the Republic this morning.

Sociedade Interbancaria de Moçambique, the entity responsible for the system, also issued a statement. “Since the early hours of today, the ATMs and POS [points-of-sale] linked to the SIMO network began operating again,”  said SIMO, without clarifying what solution had been found.

The prime minister today called on the banking sector to find “sustainable and durable solutions that guarantee the stability and reliability” of electronic banking in Mozambique. “The financial system is secure and well capitalised,” he concluded. The Mozambican capital, Lusa established that, although they were reconnected and accepting cards, it was still not possible to make withdrawals.

The Portuguese company Bizfirst, the network’s IT manager, shut down the system on Friday after two years of being unable to force the SIMO company, majority owned by the Bank of Mozambique, to sign contracts or pay for the service.The governor of the Bank of Mozambique, Rogério Zandamela, admitted in parliament on Monday that there were disagreements with the company, and accused it of opting for a “nuclear solution”, comparing its actions to “cyber attacks”.Zandamela also said he opposed a proposal from the commercial banks to immediately pay the company the amount owed so that the service could be reactivated, claiming that SIMO could never work with a firm that had taken the decision to turn the system off completely.None of the entities involved in the process have so far clarified how the situation was resolved.