Luanda, Aug. 4, 2026 (Lusa) - Restricted business operations, suspended vehicle registrations and outstanding debts are among the constraints caused by the disruption to digital payments, as reported to Lusa by residents of Luanda following last week's cyberattack on Unitel, Angola's largest telecommunications operator.
With electronic transactions restricted due to ongoing communication failures, many Luanda residents still struggling to access the internet are flocking to bank branches to get around the constraints.
Lusa observed endless queues, particularly outside bank branches across various parts of Luanda, as citizens grew impatient to get inside to make deposits, payments and transfers.
Outside a bank branch in the Viana district of Luanda, where she had been waiting her turn in the queue for over an hour to reach the counter, stood 21-year-old student Madalena Francisco.
Frustrated by the «glitches» in communications and transactions via «Multicaixa Express» , a popular app that allows cardless payments and withdrawals, the student, who is also a trader, explained that her business has come to a standstill today because she was unable to make or receive electronic payments.
«My business is being held up; I can't receive payments, and I can't make payments. For example, I now have outstanding debts, in other words, people wouldn't owe me anything if the network were working properly,» she lamented.
Madalena's shopping is also affected: «Because my [Multicaixa] Express isn't working properly due to Unitel's faults, and here I am queuing at the bank – something I absolutely hate,» she said.
The shift towards cash rather than electronic payments has, in recent days, led hundreds of citizens to flock to the banks, reflecting the fact that electronic communications remain «unstable», Mauro Machado told Lusa.
The 27-year-old pastry chef and photographer, whose work relies on information technologies, complained of difficulties accessing the internet to use payment apps.
«So, now cash is actually more convenient, because we can pay for whatever we want, which is why I've come here to the bank,» he said.
A week after the cyberattack on Unitel, many citizens say they are still experiencing significant difficulties accessing electronic services.
The operator described the attack as «deliberate and malicious» and said it would restore services to normal following last Tuesday's cyberattack.
However, student Telma Fernandes explained that the current circumstances are even limiting her use of her Multicaixa card for day-to-day transactions, making it unavoidable to go to a bank to access cash at this stage.
«I usually use electronic money, but given the situation we find ourselves in due to the network outage, I'm using cash more,» she said, also describing difficulties in using the «Multicaixa Express» service.
«I had to make some payments; there were some vehicle registrations I haven't been able to complete so far, given the network issues (…) and here we are queuing at the bank to see if we can get [cash] at the counter,» complained Telma, who had been standing in a long queue for two hours.
Roberto Segunda, a 22-year-old unemployed man, spoke of the «drawbacks» of using electronic money, given Unitel's «outages», pointing out that he had been «forced» to get up early to go to the bank, given the «usual crowds of the last few days».
«When you have electronic money, there's no need to leave the house; I can make transfers, make payments and have my shopping delivered to my door, but now the situation has become more complicated,» he said.
Multicaixa Express was the channel most used by Angolans for transactions in 2025, accounting for 62% of the network's operations according to data from the Interbank Services Company (EMIS).
DAS/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
