Pay IZI
BIM QR is the QR payment built into Smart IZI, the mobile banking app of Millennium bim, Mozambique's largest bank. A shop that signs up for Millennium bim's Pay IZI service can be paid by a customer who scans its QR code in Smart IZI, or with a reference over USSD (*181#), M-Pesa or e-Mola. Joining is free for the merchant; each payment costs the merchant 0.75 % [1]. It is one bank's code, not a national standard.
| Country | Mozambique (MZ) |
| What it is | QR payments inside Millennium bim's Smart IZI app, accepted by merchants on Pay IZI |
| Provider | Millennium bim (Banco Internacional de Moçambique) |
| Since | Millennium IZI mobile banking May 2013; Pay IZI for merchants 18 Jan 2021 [2] |
| Cost | Free to join for merchants; 0.75 % of each payment charged to the merchant [1] |
| Typical limit | Not published; the bank sets limits for informal-business merchants case by case [1] |
| Reaches | Millennium bim customers; M-Pesa and e-Mola users can also pay a Pay IZI merchant |
| Code on paper? | Yes, a merchant's QR code for Smart IZI. Its format is not published |
How the BIM QR came to Mozambique
- May 2013: Millennium IZI. The bank's mobile banking service, reached by USSD on
*181#and later the Smart IZI app, launched in May 2013. By January 2021 it carried more than 8.5 million transactions a month [2]. - 20 April 2020: new Smart IZI. A redesigned app added transfers to mobile-money wallets, from the bank to M-Pesa and e-Mola and back [3]. The app's store listing describes "Read QR Code" and "Generate QR Code" under its More menu, next to cardless "IZI Withdrawal" [4].
- 18 January 2021: Pay IZI. The bank launched Pay IZI, a merchant service it calls an alternative to card and cash, payable from Millennium IZI, Smart IZI and M-Pesa. M-Pesa's head said its 4.8 million monthly users could now pay "many more merchants" [2].
- 2024 figures. Millennium bim reported 930,342 digital customers and more than 176 million digital transactions in 2024, and named Pay IZI, "instant payments via QR code" in Smart IZI, among the app's main features [5].
The bank does not publish how many payments are made by QR.
How to use it
To pay (customer):
- Log in to Smart IZI with the phone number registered for mobile banking and your 4-digit IZI PIN [4].
- Choose Read QR Code and scan the merchant's code, then confirm the payment [4] [1].
- Without a smartphone, pay the same merchant on
*181#with the dynamic payment reference the merchant gives you [1].
To receive (merchant): Pay IZI is for companies, sole traders (ENI) and individuals running an informal business. You need a current account at Millennium bim linked to a business activity code (CAE) and an Android phone (version 6.0 or later, 2 GB RAM). Download the Pay IZI app from the Play Store, choose "Quero ser Cliente" and follow the steps; your registered phone number and account are linked to the service [1]. The app generates payment references, notifies you of each payment and shows the day's takings and history [1] [2].
Person to person: Smart IZI can also generate a personal QR code [4]; the bank's pages we read don't explain what a payer does with it.
Limits and fees
| Pay IZI (merchant) | |
|---|---|
| Joining | Free |
| Fee per payment received | 0.75 % of the amount, charged to the merchant |
| Maintenance, consumables | None (no terminal to rent) |
| Limits | Set per customer type; informal-business merchants get transaction limits at sign-up |
| Currency | Meticais (MZN) |
Source: Millennium bim's Pay IZI fact sheet, read 19 Oct 2026 [1], and the launch release [2]. The pages we read don't state what the paying customer is charged or the per-payment maximum. Limits change; check Millennium bim's current price list (Preçário).
Paying shops and businesses
Pay IZI is the shop side of the BIM QR. The bank pitches it at small traders who move around and don't want a card terminal: no terminal, no joining or maintenance fee [2]. A Pay IZI merchant can be paid four ways: Smart IZI QR, *181# with a dynamic reference, M-Pesa, and e-Mola [1]. That makes it one of the few places where a bank customer and a wallet user pay the same shop. Online checkout with Smart IZI isn't described in the sources we read.
Paying across borders
The sources we read describe Smart IZI's QR payments only inside Mozambique and in meticais. The Millennium IZI service says it works "also abroad" for the customer's own banking [2]; that is not a cross-border QR link, and none is announced.
How the BIM QR code works
The code is scanned with Read QR Code in Smart IZI, and a Pay IZI merchant shows it [4] [1]. Millennium bim has not published the code's format, so we can't say whether it follows EMVCo merchant-presented QR or is the bank's own payload. Treat it as a Millennium bim code: another bank's app shouldn't be expected to read it.
Mozambique has no national payment QR standard. The national switch, SIMO, runs cards, ATMs, POS, USSD and the links between banks and wallets (Interoperability). Each provider has its own code: e-Mola merchants show a dynamic QR from the e-Mola Business app (e-Mola QR), and M-Pesa has its own (M-Pesa QR). A QR on a Mozambican bill or shop counter therefore belongs to one provider, and the sticker usually says which. See the (MZ report) and the Millennium bim biography.
Safety: fake messages asking for your IZI PIN
In November 2023 Banco de Moçambique warned of online banking fraud by phishing: messages that trick account holders into handing over personal data. It asked the public to follow basic security rules and take care with financial operations [6].
- Your IZI PIN is only typed into Smart IZI or
*181#. No one from the bank needs it. - Before you confirm a QR payment, check the merchant name and amount the app shows you.
- A message with a link "to unblock" your account is not from the bank. Call the bank on the number on its website instead.
BIM QR and the alternatives in Mozambique
| Way to pay | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Smart IZI QR (Pay IZI) | Paying a small merchant from a Millennium bim account | Merchant pays 0.75 %; the payer's fee isn't stated |
| Card at a POS | Shops with a terminal | Runs on SIMO, contactless since the 2023 network upgrade [7] |
| M-Pesa, e-Mola, mKesh | Anyone with a phone, including feature phones | Wallets that are interoperable since July 2022 (Interoperability) |
| Transfer to a wallet from Smart IZI | Paying someone who only has a wallet | Bank to M-Pesa and e-Mola since April 2020 [3]; to mKesh under a Feb 2022 agreement [8] |
Sources
- Millennium bim, "Pay IZI: Ficha de Informação Normalizada" (fact sheet), read 19 Oct 2026. https://www.millenniumbim.co.mz/media/5w5b2oep/fin_pay-izi.pdf
- Millennium bim, "Millennium bim volta a inovar com o serviço Pay IZI" (press release), 18 Jan 2021. https://millenniumbim.co.mz/media/bqsf4s3j/2021jan18-comunicado-mbim-lancamento-do-pay-izi.pdf
- Millennium bim, "Millennium bim lança novo visual do Smart IZI" (press release), 20 Apr 2020. https://www.millenniumbim.co.mz/media/xz3flo2y/20200420-comunicado-mbim-lanca-novo-visual-do-smart-izi.pdf
- Apple App Store, "Millennium bim Smart IZI" (app listing, version 4.22.0), read 19 Oct 2026. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/-/id584629600
- Millennium bim, "Liderança digital reforçada: Millennium bim ultrapassa 930 mil Clientes digitais e atinge novo recorde de transações" (press release), dated 8 Apr 2025 on the release (file named 20250508). https://www.millenniumbim.co.mz/media/jiegfr4g/20250508-comunicado-de-imprensa-millennium-bim-ultrapassa-930-mil-clientes-digitais-e-atinge-novo-recorde-de-transacoes.pdf
- Banco de Moçambique, "Alerta sobre tentativas de phishing" (communiqué), 29 Nov 2023. https://bancomoc.mz/media/1ztmr0ri/alerta-sobre-tentativas-de-phishing.pdf
- Banco de Moçambique, "Entrada em funcionamento pleno da rede única nacional de pagamentos electrónicos" (communiqué), Nov 2023. https://bancomoc.mz/media/0thpwspu/entrada-em-funcionamento-pleno-da-rede-única-nacional-de-pagamentos-electrónicos.pdf
- Millennium bim, "Millennium bim e mKesh assinam parceria de Interoperabilidade" (press release), 9 Feb 2022. https://www.millenniumbim.co.mz/media/4642/comunicado-de-imprensa-assinatura-mou-bim_mkesh_interoperabilidade.pdf
Researched 19 October 2026. Limits and bank offerings change; the banks' own pages are authoritative.