Instant interbank transferMorocco's interbank instant credit transfer rail, launched on June 1, 2023, on GSIMT infrastructure. It complements SIMT, which still clears on a deferred basis, and is Morocco's answer to the dominance of cash in retail payments.GSIMT (launched jointly by Bank Al-Maghrib and the Groupement pour un Système Interbancaire Marocain de Télécompensation) · since 2023Execution in under 20 seconds, 24/7 service, a MAD 20,000 cap during a transition period, and free for consumers for three months after launch (Bank Al-Maghrib / GSIMT, press release of June 1, 2023).
Global registry · Africa & Middle East · North Africa
Morocco Payment systems
6 systems listed.
CurrencyMoroccan dirham (MAD)
RegulatorBank Al-Maghrib (BAM)
Leading payment methods
CashCards (CMI)Bank walletsCredit transfer
E-commerce shares
Cash · 40%Cards · 35%Wallets · 15%Account-to-account · 5%Other · 5%
CMI + cash on delivery. The Centre Monétique Interbancaire (CMI) centralizes card acquiring across the kingdom. But e-commerce is still dominated by cash on delivery: trust in online payments is building slowly.
Payment cards in circulation≈20M (2024, CMI)
E-commercecash on delivery dominates (~40%)
Cash still carries a lot of weight despite decent card ownership: many cards are used mainly for ATM withdrawals. The national interoperable wallet (the Maroc Pay m-wallet) is struggling to take off.
IBAN · Morocco
28 characters101 BIC codes
- Total length
- 28 characters
- Bank code position
- 5–7
- Branch code position
- 8–12
- BBAN structure
3!n5!n14!n2!n
Structurally valid example
MAcountry code64check digits011bank51900branch0001205000534921account
MA64 0115 1900 0001 2050 0053 4921
Learn about this market. The guides and courses that cover it.
Payments in MoroccoPayments in East AfricaPayments in Portuguese-speaking and southern AfricaMobile money in AfricaPayments in West and Southern AfricaPayments in the CEMAC zoneAccepting payments in AfricaAccepting payments in Egypt and the MaghrebAccepting payments in the GulfCollecting payments in Kenya and East AfricaCollecting payments in Nigeria and West AfricaPayments in Africa: the continent that reinvented mobile money
Instant payments
Clearing and settlement
SIMT (Système Interbancaire Marocain de Télécompensation)Morocco's retail clearing house. It processes noncash payment instruments (credit transfers, direct debits, checks, and bills of exchange) but not payment cards, which are handled by the CMI. Its balances settle in central bank money in SRBM. It is also the foundation on which the instant interbank credit transfer was built in 2023.GSIMT (Groupement pour un Système Interbancaire Marocain de Télécompensation, set up as an economic interest grouping by Bank Al-Maghrib and Morocco's banking community)
Wallets
MarocPay / mobile payment switchMorocco created a legal category of “payment institution” separate from banks, then a dedicated mobile switch to make all mobile wallets interoperable. Adoption remains far below Bank Al-Maghrib’s targets, a partial failure that should not be glossed over.CMI (under Bank Al-Maghrib’s framework; licensed payment institutions (Wafacash, M2T, Cash Plus, NAPS, Barid Cash, Maroc Telecom, Orange, and others)) · since 2018More than 8 million wallet holders in Morocco, according to the CMI (2024–2025); the figure is not cross-checked against a Bank Al-Maghrib source.
Acquiring and processing
CMI (Centre Monétique Interbancaire)Morocco’s long-standing sole acquirer for merchant card payments, also tasked with withdrawal and payment interoperability and fraud prevention. Its near-monopoly on Moroccan acquiring is a recurring competition issue that anyone entering the market needs to understand.CMI (company owned by Moroccan banks (founded by nine banks)) · since 2001
Other
HPS SwitchA rare split between merchant acquiring (kept by CMI, Morocco’s interbank card center) and switching and clearing (sold to HPS, a private software vendor). HPS then certified mobile payment providers for ATM withdrawals from interoperable mobile wallets.HPS (Hightech Payment Systems) (listed Moroccan company) · since 2016Bought CMI’s switching and clearing business for MAD 120 million in 2016 (Moroccan business press).
SRBM (Système des Règlements Bruts du Maroc)Morocco's real-time gross settlement system and the only place for final settlement in central bank money. It settles high-value and monetary policy operations and takes in the net balances from SIMT and card clearing.Bank Al-Maghrib (central bank of the Kingdom of Morocco, which operates and oversees the system)