On 2018-11-21, Mozambique’s electronic banking network was thrown into turmoil after a dispute between the Mozambican Interbank Society, known as Simo, and its software provider, the Portuguese firm Bizfirst.
The O País newspaper reported that Bank of Mozambique Governor Rogério Zandamela blamed Bizfirst for the crisis and described the disruption as a cybernetic attack.
Bizfirst manages the software used by Simo, the system that handles credit and debit cards as well as other electronic payments in the southern African country. The Bank of Mozambique holds a 51 per cent stake in Simo, and most financial institutions are partners in the network after being required to join by the central bank.
According to the report, Bizfirst switched off the system last Friday over debt arrears. The company said Simo had continued using its platform without payment and without a fresh contract after the previous agreement expired in 2016.
The shutdown did not affect Millennium BIM, the only Mozambican bank using a separate system.
Standard Bank Mozambique head Fáusio Mussá said on Tuesday that the standoff was hurting the economy and expressed hope that the authorities would act quickly. “This situation has a negative impact on our economy. I am sure authorities will not allow this situation to last longer,” O País quoted him saying. “I am certain that we will not reach Christmas with this difficult situation.”
The Simo network is estimated to process 465,000 transactions a day within Mozambique and 14,000 internationally. With ATMs unable to dispense services, many customers were pushed into more expensive and time-consuming over-the-counter transactions.
