Words: Rezilda Paulino and Constantino Novela · Article published in Banking & Insurance Magazine
The revolution has already begun in the world’s major financial centres. Banks are turning to Artificial Intelligence to make decisions, prevent risk and better understand their customers. In Mozambique, the technology is only now entering the regulatory agenda. Between opportunities and challenges, the country is seeking to define the path for a transformation that could reshape the future of its financial system.
Imagine walking into a bank branch without speaking to a single member of staff and still being able to open an account, obtain credit, have your questions answered, have an attempted fraud detected before it even happens, and receive personalised financial advice. Imagine a bank able to identify suspicious transactions in seconds, anticipate defaults, monitor systemic risk in real time and support supervisors in complex decision-making.
This scenario no longer belongs to science fiction. In several markets it is part of everyday life. It is precisely this horizon that is now entering the debate on the future of the Mozambican financial system. The question is no longer whether Artificial Intelligence will reach national banking. The real question is whether the country can create the regulatory, technological, institutional and human conditions to benefit from this transformation without compromising trust, stability and financial inclusion.
The foundations of transformation
AI has the potential to profoundly change the way the financial system operates, but technology alone does not deliver that transformation. International experience shows that the greatest gains come not merely from adopting new algorithms, but from building an ecosystem capable of supporting them. And that is where one of Mozambique’s main challenges lies.
The first foundation is data quality. AI models learn from the information available. Incomplete, outdated, fragmented or poorly standardised databases significantly reduce the accuracy of analyses, undermine the ability to predict risk and can produce unfair or unreliable decisions. Without a robust data governance strategy, AI is unlikely to deliver consistent results.
The second pillar is technological infrastructure. Intensive use of AI requires computing power, secure storage of large volumes of information, reliable connectivity and high cybersecurity standards. Although the digitalisation of national banking has made important progress in recent years, challenges remain in modernising infrastructure.
Full article in the current edition of Banking & Insurance Magazine.