Microsoft Global Outage Hits Mauritius Banks and Regulators
SBM Bank, Bank One, ABC Banking and the Stock Exchange of Mauritius all reported disruptions after a worldwide Microsoft outage on Friday 13 November.
A global Microsoft outage that began on Friday 13 November has rippled into Mauritius, disrupting banks, regulators and businesses across the island.
SBM Bank, one of Mauritius's largest commercial banks, warned customers that replies to emails could take longer than usual. Bank One, another major local lender, flagged disruptions to its communications systems. ABC Banking reported intermittent interruptions to its messaging services, including failures in sending OTP (one-time password) codes, which customers rely on to authorise online transactions.
The Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA), the government body that oversees the gambling and gaming sector in Mauritius, also confirmed technical difficulties affecting its IT systems.
The Stock Exchange of Mauritius (SEM) took a more formal step, asking all listed companies that need to release market-sensitive information to contact its Listing Division directly so that alternative communication arrangements could be made. Listed companies are legally required to disclose price-sensitive information promptly, so the SEM's move was aimed at preventing any breach of those obligations while email systems remained unreliable.
IT professionals on the ground also felt the strain. One worker in the IT tools sector, identified as Tej, described spending the day checking which services were affected, running technical verifications and looking for workarounds to keep operations running.
The disruption reflects how deeply Mauritius, like most modern economies, depends on Microsoft's cloud and productivity infrastructure. Email platforms, authentication systems and business communication tools all run on services such as Microsoft 365 and Azure, meaning a global fault can cascade quickly into local operations.
What this means: For ordinary customers, the most visible impact is likely to be slower responses from banks and possible delays receiving OTP security codes for online payments. Businesses dealing with regulated bodies such as the GRA or SEM should use phone or in-person contact as a backup until email systems are fully restored. IT teams across the private and public sector are advised to document any service failures in case of compliance or reporting obligations.
Source: ION News
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Mauritius banks were affected by the Microsoft outage?β
SBM Bank, Bank One and ABC Banking all reported disruptions linked to the global Microsoft outage on 13 November. ABC Banking specifically flagged intermittent failures in sending OTP codes used for online transaction verification.
What did the Stock Exchange of Mauritius do during the outage?β
The Stock Exchange of Mauritius asked all companies listed on its market to contact its Listing Division directly if they needed to release information to investors, so that alternative methods could be arranged while email systems were unavailable.
What is the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) in Mauritius?β
The GRA is the Mauritian government body responsible for licensing and regulating all gambling and gaming activities in the country. It confirmed that its own IT systems were affected by the Microsoft outage on 13 November.
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