BdM highlights importance of Gross Settlement System in SADC banking sector
The director of the Bank of Mozambique (BdM), Maria Majimeja, said this Wednesday (15) that the implementation of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) real-time gross settlement system, called RTGS, is a crucial instrument in promoting integration, as it allows financial transactions to be carried out safely and efficiently, thus making it indispensable for boosting the socio-economic development of member countries and the region as a whole.
Speaking during the platform’s 10th anniversary celebrations in Maputo, the BdM manager explained that the event is the culmination of hard work that began in 2013, the fruits of which are indelible proof that “together we can achieve the development goals set out in the Strategic Regional Development Plan”.
“Since joining this platform in 2016, Mozambique currently has the participation of seven banks and has seen increasing levels of use, an example of which is the realization of 11,400 transactions in 2022, compared to 8,300 in 2021, which represents a growth of 37%,” she said.
On the same occasion, Maria Majimeja reiterated BdM’s commitment to promoting RTGS and other payment initiatives in the region.
For his part, the chairman of the SADC Payment Systems sub-committee, Tim Masela, pointed out that the major challenges for the region were the need to promote greater integration of currencies, in a context where “more than 52% of transactions are paid for in US dollars”, and stressed the need to implement reforms in order to make SADC more active and relevant in the global arena.
