New Bank of Mozambique licence enables direct merchant onboarding across
one of Africa’s fastest-growing mobile money markets
8th March, 2026, Mozambique – PawaPay, a leading pan-African payments
aggregator, has been granted a Payment Service Provider (PSP) licence by
the Bank of Mozambique through its local subsidiary, Quidexplus
Mozambique.
The authorisation makes PawaPay one of the first companies to be
licensed to operate as a PSP in Mozambique, giving merchants a regulated
route into one of Africa’s most active mobile money markets.
The licence allows PawaPay to onboard merchants directly in Mozambique
and provide regulated payment services across the country.
Mozambique’s mobile money market now exceeds 12 million active
accounts across three operators: M-Pesa (Vodacom), E-Mola (Movitel) and
mKesh (Tmcel).
Until now, limited licensed payment infrastructure has restricted how
merchants operate at scale in the market.
“Mozambique has been one of the most active mobile money markets on
the continent for years, but merchants have had no reliable way to
operate here at scale,” said Ilídio Matchebe, Mozambique Country
Director at PawaPay. “Becoming one of the first PSPs licensed by the
Bank of Mozambique changes that. We can now onboard merchants directly
and connect them to the operators their customers already use day to
day.”
The Mozambique licence sits alongside PawaPay’s existing regulated
presence across 23 African markets, where the company processes around 7
million transactions a day for customers operating in sectors including
ride-hailing, remittance, retail and NGOs.
The licence enables PawaPay to begin commercial operations immediately,
with merchant onboarding expected to begin in the coming days.
The company is also in advanced discussions with M-Pesa, E-Mola and
international remittance providers around expanding inbound payment
flows into Mozambique.
About PawaPay
PawaPay helps global and local businesses operate across African mobile
money through a single API. The company connects merchants to mobile
money wallets across 23 African markets, working directly with banks and
mobile network operators to support collections, settlement, FX and
reconciliation.
Founded in 2020, PawaPay has successfully processed over 3.5 billion
transactions. The company supports businesses operating across sectors
including ride-hailing, remittance, retail, NGOs and international
expansion into African markets.
