Morocco’s new ceilings on domestic card payment interchange fees will take effect on October 1, two months after Bank Al-Maghrib announced the measure to expand electronic payments.
Under the new rules, the general ceiling for domestic card interchange fees will fall from 0.65% to 0.50%, excluding tax. A separate ceiling of 0.15% will apply to electronic government payments and transactions at qualifying local retailers.
The measure was adopted under Bank Al-Maghrib’s Regulatory Decision No. 265/W/2026 and will replace the previous rules introduced in September 2024.
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Lower cap for government payments and local retailers
The 0.15% ceiling will cover electronic payments for taxes, duties, administrative fines and penalties, as well as fees for issuing or renewing official documents, permits and licenses.
It will also apply to qualifying independent physical retail businesses with annual revenue of no more than MAD 500,000 for self-employed businesses, or MAD 2 million for individually owned commercial, industrial or craft businesses operating under Morocco’s unified professional tax regime.
The definition excludes large and medium-sized retail outlets, integrated or franchised businesses, and companies.
The new rules do not cover ATM withdrawals, payments made with cards issued under three-party card schemes, or transactions made with cards issued abroad.
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Merchants cannot pass the fee on to customers
Bank Al-Maghrib also reiterated that the commission charged to merchants for accepting card payments cannot be passed on to customers, regardless of the payment channel used.
The interchange fee is one component of the overall merchant commission charged for accepting card payments. The other components include acquisition and operating costs.
Under the new rules, payment acquirers must ensure that contracts with merchants clearly set out the applicable interchange, acquisition and operating fees. They must also ensure that merchants provide customers with clear and visible information about available payment methods at the point of sale.
The decision also requires acquirers to report their interchange fee schedules and merchant commissions to Bank Al-Maghrib, along with information needed to monitor compliance.
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For government e-payments and transactions at qualifying local retailers, the central bank said the reduction in interchange fees is intended to be reflected in the commissions charged to merchants.
