Retail Payment Systems
In the OIC Member Countries
65
The main laws regarding banking and payment systems in Morocco is Decree No. 1-05-178
Promulgating the Law Related to the Establishment of Credit Institutions and Affiliated
Organisations No. 34-03, 2006 (Salami, 2012). This law replaced the 1993 Banking Act which
was enacted by the Central Bank of Morocco in July 1993 as the unified regulatory framework
for all credit institutions.
Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM), Morocco’s Central Bank is the prudential regulator and supervisor of
financial institutions whose responsibilities include monitoring and ensuring the security of
payment systems and related standards. BAM also advises the government on financial issues.
Following an IMF assessment in 2003, Morocco embarked on a series of financial sector
reforms that were strengthen the institutional and legal environment for the financial system
(Salami, 2012).
Morocco has 19 banks with a combined total of 4,565 branches. Centre Monetique
Interbancaire (CMI) is the sole acquirer in the market and functions as the central retail
payments switch for ATM and POS. Total bank deposit account values have increased 18%
from €4.9 billion in 2007 to €6.8 billion in 2009; 74% of bank deposit accounts sat with 3
financial institutions (BP, BMCE, AWB). Conventional access to financial services remains
restricted (6,300 people/bank branch nationally), with a significant gap between urban and
rural zones (5,800 people/branch versus 112,000 people/branch). Bank card penetration,
however, has more than doubled between 2004 and 2008 from 7.5% to 16% of the total
population (IFC, 2012).
The Moroccan microfinance sector is just emerging from a widespread non-performing loan
crisis that followed a period of sustained expansion of credit portfolios. Moroccan MFIs are
non-profit organisations that provide credit only, with wholesale funding from local banks and
international funders. While some of the leading MFIs have initiated development of mobile
phone-based payment channels, these initiatives have been slowed or suspended pending
recovery from the portfolio crisis.
Large Value Payment Systems
The institutional framework of payment systems is characterized by the diversity of actors and
the central role of Bank Al-Maghrib, as the authority legally responsible for ensuring the
smooth operation and security of the systems and means of payment. The large payment
systems actors are primarily Système des Règlements Bruts du Maroc (SRBM), Système
Interbancaire Marocain de Télécompensation (SIMT), Système de règlement/livraison de
Maroclear, and Centre Monétique Interbancaire (CMI).