Setting Up MB WAY

What MB WAY does

MB WAY is a free service from SIBS (the company that runs Multibanco) that links your Portuguese mobile number to one or more debit cards. Once activated, you can: send money instantly to anyone with an MB WAY-registered phone number, generate single-use virtual card numbers for online shopping, pay at shops and restaurants by scanning a QR code or showing one to the cashier, and withdraw cash from any Multibanco ATM without a physical card. Adoption is enormous — over 4.5 million active users in a country of 10 million — so it's how most Portuguese friends will offer to split a dinner bill or pay you back for concert tickets.

What you need to activate

Three prerequisites — none of them optional. Trying to skip any of these is the most common reason setup fails.

• A Portuguese mobile number (any carrier, prepaid is fine)
• A debit card from a participating Portuguese bank — every major bank participates, including ActivoBank, Millennium BCP, Caixa Geral, Novobanco, Santander, Bison, Moey!, BPI, Crédito Agrícola, BIC. Foreign-issued cards do not work, even with a PT IBAN like Revolut
• A smartphone with the bank's mobile app installed and active

Activation, step by step

The whole process takes under 5 minutes from inside your bank's app. The exact menu names differ by bank but the flow is identical.

• Open your bank's mobile app and log in
• Find the menu item 'MB WAY' or 'Aderir ao MB WAY' (literally 'join MB WAY')
• Confirm the phone number (your bank usually has it on file)
• Choose a 6-digit MB WAY PIN — different from your card PIN; this is the code you'll type for every payment
• Tap 'Activate' and wait for a confirmation SMS (arrives in seconds)
• Re-open the MB WAY section to add additional cards if you want — you can hold up to 5 cards from different banks under one number

Sending money to a friend

Open your bank app's MB WAY section, choose 'Send', type the recipient's Portuguese mobile number (or pick from your contacts), enter the amount, confirm with your MB WAY PIN. The money arrives in seconds, 24/7. There's no fee. Daily and per-transaction limits vary by bank, typically €2,500/day with €750 per transaction — adjustable in the app.

Paying online with a virtual card

MB WAY's killer feature for cautious shoppers: single-use card numbers. Inside the app, generate a 'cartão virtual MB NET' for the exact amount of your purchase. The merchant sees a normal Visa/Mastercard number that works once and self-destructs. This is the safest way to pay on small Portuguese e-commerce sites, services like AliExpress, or anywhere you don't want your real card stored.

Paying in shops and restaurants

Three ways to pay in person, all triggered from the same MB WAY screen: (1) The cashier shows you a QR code on the terminal — you scan it with your app and confirm with your PIN. (2) You show the cashier a QR code from your app — they scan it with the terminal. (3) The cashier types your phone number into the terminal — you receive a notification on your phone and approve. All three are supported by virtually every Portuguese POS terminal.

Withdrawing cash without a card

From the app, choose 'Levantar dinheiro' and the amount. The app generates an 8-digit code valid for 30 minutes. Walk to any Multibanco ATM, select 'Levantamento sem cartão' / 'Levantamento MB WAY', type the code, take the cash. Useful when you've forgotten your wallet and brilliant for sending cash to a Portuguese friend who needs it urgently — they get a code by SMS and can withdraw at any ATM.

Security and limits

MB WAY is regulated under Portuguese banking law and protected by your bank's fraud guarantees, but a few habits keep you safe.

• Never share your MB WAY PIN — your bank will never ask for it. The only time you type it is to confirm a payment YOU initiated
• Watch out for the 'pedido de dinheiro' scam: criminals send a request and a panicked SMS pretending to be a relative. Always call before paying
• Lower your daily limit in the app if you only use MB WAY for small payments — easy to do, hard to abuse
• Lost your phone? Call your bank immediately to suspend MB WAY — separate from card cancellation
• Adding multiple cards is fine but pick one as 'default' to avoid double-charging when you're rushed