The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) has suspended the commencement of the biometric SIM card registration, which was set to roll out from July 1 to September 2025.

MACRA Deputy Director of Legal responsible for Consumer Affairs Kelious Mlenga told Zodiak Online that the development follows a request by the Association of Telecommunications Operators (ATO) to be financially and technically ready, hence granting an eight-month extension period to address the hitches. 

Mlenga adds that the Ministry of Information has also yet to promulgate Simcard Registration Regulations to provide a solid legal basis for enforcing the requirements.

"MACRA was ready to commence the biometric Sim Card registration but it would have been unrealistic to ignore the concerns raised by the operators," said Mlenga. 

He however said that they will continue to engage the stakeholders, including consumers, to make them ready for the biometric registration process. 

Meanwhile, President for the ICT Association of Malawi (ICTAM) Clerence Gama has urged mobile network operators to meet the extension period considering the magnitude of cases related to mobile money fraud.

Gama said, "MACRA's decision is commendable but it is now the duty of the mobile network operators to meet the requirements."

Individuals will be allowed to register a maximum 10 SIM cards and up to 30 SIM cards for institutions to strengthen consumer protection over misuse of mobile numbers in illegal activities, according to MACRA.