Mozambique Cuts Foreign Card Payment Limit to €40,700 a Year

Banco de Moçambique has halved the annual cap on foreign card payments from €81,400 to €40,700 per cardholder, tightening controls amid a foreign-currency squeeze.

What Banco de Moçambique's New Card Limit Does

Banco de Moçambique has halved the annual ceiling on foreign payments made with bank cards, taking it from six million meticais to three million meticais per cardholder — about €40,700. The change was set out in Aviso n.º 4/GBM/2026 and replaces the previous notice that had been in force since December 2025.

The cap applies to all individuals and companies holding cards issued in Mozambique, whether they are exchange residents or non-residents, and covers every credit institution supervised by the central bank. Crucially, the limit is aggregated across the entire banking system: it counts all cards, all banks and all channels used by a single holder, including cash withdrawals abroad.

The central bank says the adjustment is needed to bring foreign card payment limits in line with external payment controls. The move comes as businesses continue to report currency shortages as one of the main obstacles to economic activity. In November 2025, the president of the Confederation of Economic Associations, Álvaro Massingue, described the situation as an economic emergency and called for priority access to foreign currency for productive and exporting companies.

When the six million metical limit was introduced in December 2025, it coincided with reports of difficulty obtaining foreign currency from commercial banks. That squeeze affected imports of raw materials and led some operators to rely on international card payments instead.

Why the Central Bank Is Tightening Foreign Exchange Access

Banco de Moçambique: Managing Scarcity Through Tighter Card Controls

The central bank is using card payment limits as a direct instrument of foreign-exchange management. Its stated reason is to adjust foreign card payments within the broader framework of external payment controls. That wording, combined with the timing, signals pressure on Mozambique's foreign currency availability rather than a purely administrative rule change.

Where the Cap Bites: Companies, Importers and Affluent Households

The aggregation rule is the most significant operational detail. Because the annual limit applies to each holder across the whole banking system, a business cannot multiply its capacity by using several banks or several cards. In practice, the measure narrows the route that some operators began using after December 2025, when commercial banks were struggling to supply foreign currency for imports.

The CTA Warning and the December Precedent

The CTA's earlier description of an economic emergency suggests the business sector already viewed access to foreign currency as a hard constraint. The previous six million metical ceiling was itself introduced only in December 2025, and it has now been revised within roughly seven months. That short interval indicates the central bank is still calibrating its controls in response to continued scarcity.

What Cardholders and Businesses in Mozambique Should Do

For businesses using Mozambique-issued cards for foreign payments, treat the €40,700 annual ceiling as a single aggregated limit. Using multiple banks or multiple cards does not create additional capacity under Aviso n.º 4/GBM/2026.
Importers that turned to card payments after December 2025 should rework their payment calendar now. The central bank's move is intended to bring card-based foreign payments under tighter control, so formal access to foreign currency through commercial banks becomes even more central where it is available.
Individuals who travel, study abroad or use foreign subscriptions should include all foreign card transactions and cash withdrawals when calculating their annual usage, because cash withdrawals count toward the same cap.
Cardholders should ask their commercial bank how it will apply the new ceiling and report aggregated usage, since the rule applies across institutions supervised by Banco de Moçambique.

Risk & Opportunity Assessment

Commercial Risk	Medium	Halving foreign card limits may reduce transaction volumes for Mozambique-issued cards and push customers toward scarce official foreign-exchange channels, at a time when businesses already report difficulty obtaining currency from commercial banks.
Competitive Risk	Medium	Companies that relied on international card payments for imports after December 2025 face tighter constraints, while businesses with better access to commercial bank forex gain a relative advantage.
Regulatory Risk	High	The central bank has revised the card payment regime less than seven months after the previous notice, suggesting banks and cardholders face further compliance changes with little lead time.
Reputation Risk	Medium	The measure may be perceived as increasing financial restrictions on residents and businesses; the CTA's 'economic emergency' language already reflects pressure on business confidence over foreign currency access.
Technology Disruption	Low	The card payment infrastructure remains unchanged; the restriction operates through limits and controls rather than technological change.
Commercial Opportunity	Medium	Banks or financial institutions able to offer legitimate, transparent foreign payment alternatives could gain clients as card-based foreign payments become more restricted.