Mozambique loses more than 100 billion meticais every month due to the recurrent failures of the national banking system, according to an analysis by the Center for Public Integrity (CIP).

"Continuous failures in the payment system could cost the economy more than 103.54 million meticais a month, and around 310.62 million meticais every quarter," says CIP.

According to the institution, over the last few days more than 17 million bank accounts in Mozambique have suffered from failures in the SIMO Rede payment system. This has resulted in a minimum daily loss of 3.34 million meticais.

In CIP's view, these problems reveal the inefficiency of the Bank of Mozambique as a regulator of the national banking system.

"This crisis not only directly affects the economy, but also undermines the confidence of citizens, companies and financial institutions in the national banking system," it reads.

The NGO believes that "although the situation requires an urgent and coordinated response to mitigate the damage and restore confidence in the financial system, there is a misalignment between the commercial banks and the Bank of Mozambique, the regulator of the financial system, which is primarily responsible for guaranteeing a functional and efficient national payment system".