As part of its efforts to support the growth of cashless payments in Morocco, the country’s central bank, Bank Al-Maghrib, said the ceiling on domestic interchange fees will be lowered from 0.65% to 0.50%, excluding taxes, starting on October 1, 2026.
Bank Al-Maghrib has also introduced a preferential cap of 0.15%, excluding taxes, for electronic government services (e-Gov) and transactions carried out by neighborhood businesses. Interchange fees are one of the components of the merchant service charge applied when businesses accept card payments.
The move is intended to reduce the cost of accepting electronic payments—particularly for small retailers—and encourage broader adoption of digital payment methods.
The central bank also reiterated that merchants are strictly prohibited from passing these costs on to consumers. Merchant service charges remain the sole responsibility of businesses and cannot, under any circumstances, be added to customers’ bills, regardless of the payment method used.
In addition, Bank Al-Maghrib is tightening transparency requirements. Acquiring institutions will be required to include detailed information on applicable fees in their contracts with merchants and ensure that payment terms are clearly displayed at points of sale.
