Cartões de crédito
Maputo, 30 Jul (AIM) – The Bank of Mozambique, in its role as regulator of the national financial system, has announced that companies and individuals can only use their bank cards abroad to make payments of up to three million meticais (46,900 Us dollars at the current exchange rate).
The previous amount that was allowed for payments abroad was six million meticais. According to the Central Bank’s announcement, the measure covers companies and individuals using debit, credit, and prepaid cards issued by financial institutions supervised by the country’s financial system.
This means the limit applies per cardholder, regardless of the number of banks where the person holds an account, the number of bank cards they own, or the payment channels used.
This rule applies immediately to all cardholders, regardless of the volume of transactions already conducted under the previous regime, and “non-compliance with or violation of this measure constitutes a foreign exchange violation, subject to the sanctions prescribed by the country’s foreign exchange laws.”
“Once a user reaches the established annual ceiling of three million meticais, all financial institutions must immediately block that cardholder’s cards for foreign transactions. The daily limits set by individual commercial banks remain in effect”, reads the document.
According to the note, commercial banks must always notify their customers about their annual limit usage, observing the following stages “upon reaching 50 percent of the annual limit, upon reaching 75 percent, upon reaching the full three million meticais, and at the moment the card is blocked for foreign payments.”
“Before issuing or renewing any card, commercial banks are required to consult the Bank of Mozambique to verify the customer’s status regarding the use of their foreign exchange limits”, adds the note.
The document adds that the cardholder must submit a substantiated request to a credit institution of their choice in order to request an additional amount. This process must be accompanied by proof of the need for the requested sum and “the commercial bank will have five business days to forward the recommendation to the central bank, which will then make a decision within 15 business days.”
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