KYC Compliance in Mozambique: A 2025 Guide for Fintechs and Digital Platforms

Mozambique has strengthened its AML framework over the past few years. Digital financial services continue to expand and the need for reliable identity verification grows across banks, mobile money operators, fintech startups, wallet providers, gig platforms, and other regulated businesses. For early stage companies entering East and Southern Africa, understanding Mozambique’s KYC requirements is key to building compliant onboarding flows.

This guide summarises the regulatory landscape, outlines customer due diligence obligations, explains the practical challenges in the market, and highlights where modern tools such as VOVE ID make onboarding more secure and scalable.

Regulatory Framework

Mozambique’s core AML and KYC obligations are defined in Law No. 14/2023, which provides the foundation for financial integrity across the sector. In 2024, the government introduced Law No. 3/2024 and Law No. 4/2024 to reinforce alignment with global FATF standards and to improve the operational capacity of national institutions.

The Banco de Moçambique supervises compliance and issues directives that apply to banks, electronic money issuers, payment service providers, insurance companies, microfinance operators, virtual asset providers, and other regulated entities. Recent reforms aim to enhance risk assessments, strengthen reporting obligations, and improve transparency around beneficial ownership.

Core KYC Requirements

Regulated institutions must implement the following Customer Due Diligence (CDD) measures before establishing any business relationship.

1. Customer identification and verification

Institutions must collect approved identification documents such as a national ID (Bilhete de Identidade), passport, or other accepted forms of ID and verify them prior to onboarding.

2. Collection of additional data

Depending on the risk level, businesses must gather information on the purpose of the relationship, expected profile, occupation or business activity, and the source of funds when relevant.

3. Screening

All customers must be screened against sanctions lists, watchlists, and politically exposed persons databases. Screening also applies to directors and beneficial owners of legal entities.

4. Ongoing due diligence

Institutions must keep customer information up to date and request new documents or data when circumstances change or when the customer’s risk profile evolves.

5. Enhanced due diligence

Higher risk cases require additional checks and deeper verification. These may include complex ownership structures, cross border activity, or unusual patterns that merit closer review.

6. Simplified CDD thresholds

For certain low risk products, Mozambique allows Simplified Customer Due Diligence. Banco de Moçambique permits SCDD for electronic money accounts and basic wallets with monthly limits of up to approximately 15,000 MZN and no international transfers. This creates meaningful inclusion opportunities for wallet providers and gig platforms, although many operators are still unaware of this flexibility.

KYC for Legal Entities

Legal entity onboarding follows standard KYB principles. Businesses must verify company registration, collect incorporation documents, confirm director identities, and identify beneficial owners.

In 2024, Mozambique launched the Registro Central de Beneficiários Efetivos under the Financial Information Office (GIFiM). Coverage remains limited, with fewer than 30 percent of companies registered. This explains why UBO verification frequently depends on manual document collection, additional declarations, and direct customer engagement. For fintechs serving SMEs or cross border traders, this adds friction and operational overhead.

Market Challenges That Shape KYC

Mozambique’s identity ecosystem presents structural gaps that influence how digital onboarding is designed.

Limited access to formal ID

National ID penetration remains uneven. Data from the World Bank and the National Communications Institute (INCM) shows that only 60 to 65 percent of adults hold a valid Bilhete de Identidade. Coverage is significantly lower in rural provinces. As a result, 35 to 40 percent of users are likely to present incomplete, outdated, or difficult to verify documents. This directly affects KYC completion and approval rates.

Variability in document quality

ID documents vary widely in age, condition, printing method, and readability. Low resolution photos or worn edges often reduce the accuracy of automated checks and require escalation.

Gaps in digital infrastructure

Mozambique continues to improve its digital systems, but automated identity verification is not yet fully standardised. Many institutions still rely on manual reviews, which increases onboarding time and operational load.

Limited adoption of the risk based approach

Although regulations allow simplified due diligence, many institutions remain conservative. Lack of awareness of SCDD thresholds leads to missed opportunities for onboarding low risk users quickly and responsibly.

What This Means for Fintechs and Digital Platforms

Startups building payment solutions, wallets, lending products, gig marketplaces, trading tools, or crypto services need operational flexibility to navigate inconsistent document quality and varying levels of compliance maturity.

Key considerations include:

• Automated verification is essential for handling diverse document types and reducing manual workload.
• Wallets and gig platforms can benefit significantly from SCDD, especially when serving low value and low risk customer segments.
• Businesses should incorporate escalation paths for unclear documents, outdated IDs, and missing UBO details.
• KYC refresh processes should be integrated into onboarding from the start.
• Well structured documentation, including UBO evidence and customer records, is important for regulatory reviews.

Modern identity verification platforms such as VOVE ID help reduce friction, prevent fraud, and maintain compliance at scale, even in markets with uneven ID coverage.

Recommendations for Early Stage Companies Expanding Into Mozambique

1. Build a layered onboarding flow that supports both full CDD and simplified CDD depending on the product.
2. Prepare for incomplete or low quality documents by using technology that can detect image issues and automatically flag edge cases.
3. Invest in automated sanctions and PEP screening to minimise manual interventions.
4. Offer clear user guidance to reduce drop off during KYC and to improve completion rates.
5. Maintain consistent documentation, including risk assessments, UBO records, and customer files, to simplify regulatory audits.

Conclusion

Mozambique is advancing its AML and KYC capabilities while working to expand financial inclusion. For digital businesses, the combination of regulatory expectations and practical identity constraints requires a thoughtful approach to onboarding. By adopting a structured, risk based process and using reliable verification technology, companies can scale safely and operate in full compliance with local requirements.