This Wednesday (15), the Board Member for Banking Operations, Issuance and Payment System Oversight, Maria Esperança Majimeja, attended the celebrations of the 10^th anniversary of the Real-Time Gross Settlement System of the Southern African Development Community (SADC-RTGS) at Hotel Avenida in Maputo city.

In her address, Esperança Majimeja stated that the implementation of the SADC-RTGS is a vital instrument in promoting integration by enabling secure and efficient financial transactions, making it indispensable for bolstering the socioeconomic development of member countries in particular and the region in general.

Esperança Majimeja stressed that the event is the culmination of hard work that started in 2023, and its results are everlasting evidence that “together we can achieve the development targets set in the Regional Development Strategic Plan.”

According to the Board Member's explanation, since joining this platform in 2016, Mozambique currently has seven participating banks, amid a backdrop of increasing use, as evidenced by the 11400 transactions carried out in 2022, up from 8300 in 2021, a 37% growth.

Moreover, Majimeja renewed the commitment of the Banco de Moçambique to promote RTGS and other payment initiatives in the region.

For his part, the Chairman of SADC's Payment System Subcommittee, Tim Masela, pointed out the region’s key challenges, namely the need for promoting greater integration of our currencies, given that “over 52% of our transactions are paid in US dollars”, and stressed the need to implement reforms so as to make the SADC more active and prominent on the global stage. 

In attendance at the event were the Directors of the Department of Regulation and Licensing and the Office of Payment System Oversight, Carlos Melo and Luís Manjama, respectively, the Assistance Director of the Banking Services and Payment Systems Department, Gabriel Domingos, bank staff members, and representatives of SADC member countries.