Starting October 1, 2026, a new decision by Bank Al-Maghrib capping interchange fees on electronic card payments (TPE) is set to take effect, with digital public services and small neighborhood merchants benefiting from reduced rates.
The move is the fruit of joint institutional cooperation between Bank Al-Maghrib and the Competition Council, following several meetings devoted to examining the state of Morocco’s card-based electronic payments market. Those efforts culminated in a joint statement issued Friday, reviewed by Hespress, announcing decisive measures to regulate service pricing and entrench competitiveness in this vital sector, in the service of financial inclusion and the interests of citizens and merchants alike.
Details of the cut and the cap
Under decision No. 2026/W/265, issued by Bank Al-Maghrib on July 6, new contractual and financial rules have been adopted aimed at easing the financial burden arising from electronic payment transactions (TPE deductions).
According to the central bank and the Competition Council, the new ceiling takes effect on October 1, 2026, with interchange fees applied to domestic electronic payment transactions cut to 0.50 percent, after having been capped in October 2024 at 0.65 percent.
Special advantages have been granted to vital sectors, with the decision setting a lower, dedicated ceiling of no more than 0.15 percent for payments related to government services (the digital public sector) and for the neighborhood retail sector (commerce de proximité).
These pricing decisions aim to reduce the acquisition commissions that merchants had been bearing when accepting electronic payment, according to the joint statement issued Friday.
Restructuring the digital payments market
The joint meetings between the two bodies focused on tracking the implementation of commitments undertaken by the Centre Monétique Interbancaire (CMI) and its shareholder banks, which became binding under Competition Council decision No. 152/3/2024 (as amended and supplemented), issued on October 31, 2024.
These structural measures, according to both sides, included ending CMI’s monopoly by requiring it to halt its card-acquiring activity (acquisition monétique) and to open the market to new players and payment institutions on a precise timetable.
CMI was also barred from recruiting new merchants as of November 15, 2024, and required to divest its entire portfolio of merchant contracts by January 31, 2026 for private contracts, and by April 30, 2026 for public ones.
The decision guarantees the various payment institutions the right to access CMI’s services as a technical processing platform, on fair, transparent and non-discriminatory terms. The statement stressed that Bank Al-Maghrib would support the new entrants — payment institutions, both newly and previously licensed — in deploying and developing their activities, while ensuring compliance with security requirements, business continuity and the reliability of payment services.
A competitive, multi-player model
The same source affirmed that these measures together contributed to a successful shift from a “mono-acquirer” model to a developmental structure built on multiple acquirers and players (multi-acquirers).
The transition took place under conditions ensuring continuity of service, a diversity of available offerings, and lower commissions imposed on merchants.
In closing, Bank Al-Maghrib and the Competition Council stressed that they would continue their joint and periodic coordination — each according to its mandate — to closely monitor the functioning of the electronic payments market, with the aim of easing citizens’ and merchants’ access to secure digital solutions available at competitive costs.
