Paying by card in Morocco…
Is about to become cheaper for businesses.
Bank Al-Maghrib has announced that the maximum interchange fee on domestic electronic card payments will fall from 0.65% to 0.50% starting October 1, 2026. The move is designed to lower the cost of accepting card payments and encourage wider adoption of electronic transactions.
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The reform goes even further for small businesses.
A special reduced ceiling of 0.15% will apply to:
Payments made to public administrations (e-Gov).
Transactions with local neighborhood merchants.
The aim is to make digital payments more affordable for small retailers and public services.
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What exactly is an interchange fee?
It’s the fee paid between banks every time you use a bank card.
While consumers don’t pay it directly, it influences the merchant fees charged to shops. Lower interchange fees should therefore help reduce the cost of accepting card payments for businesses.
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This decision is part of a broader transformation of Morocco’s payment market.
Since 2024, authorities have been opening the card-acquiring market to more operators, ending the former monopoly model and encouraging greater competition between banks and payment institutions.
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For consumers, nothing changes immediately at checkout.
However, lower costs for merchants could encourage more shops to accept bank cards, especially small businesses that previously preferred cash because of transaction fees.
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By reducing payment fees, Morocco is taking another step toward a less cash-dependent economy—making electronic payments more attractive for merchants, banks and consumers alike.
