Morocco Fintech: Wallets, Regulation and Startups

Morocco is a market with a large card base and a cash habit that is hard to break, and its regulators are now moving on several fronts at once. Morocco fintech is shaped by Bank Al-Maghrib's push for mobile wallets, a crowdfunding law, a draft crypto-asset bill and a state-backed plan to fund startups. Because Morocco and Tunisia share a similar legal tradition and banking structure, each step is directly relevant to Tunisian founders and regulators.

A card market that still runs on cash

On paper, Moroccans are well equipped. According to Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM) data reported by Hespress, 22.6 million bank cards were in circulation in 2024, up 12% in a year. But cards are mostly used to take cash out: withdrawals accounted for 86% of card uses in 2024, down only slightly from 88% in 2023.

The central bank has said cash demand remains above pre-pandemic levels, even though it fell in 2024. A tax amnesty absorbed about 37 billion dirhams of cash holdings, according to North Africa Post. Reducing cash use is therefore an explicit BAM priority.

Payment institutions and the m-wallet

Morocco's 2014 banking law opened the market to payment institutions, non-bank companies licensed to hold payment accounts and move money. In 2018 the country launched M-Wallet, an interoperable mobile payment solution.

Adoption has been slow but is now accelerating, largely thanks to the state. According to BAM's 2024 report on payment systems, as reported by North Africa Post:

• 21 mobile wallet offers were available by the end of 2024;
• mobile wallet accounts rose to 13.8 million, from 10.3 million a year earlier;
• wallet transactions nearly doubled to 19.7 million, worth 3.9 billion dirhams, mostly linked to social aid transfers;
• mobile payments still account for only 0.1% of total transactions.

BAM eased rules for payment institutions so they could help distribute social aid digitally, and it is working with the World Bank to map government-to-citizen payment flows. The lesson is clear: when the state pays benefits into wallets, wallets get opened.

Startups: the payment licence as a growth tool

The most visible example of a startup using the payment institution licence is Chari, a Casablanca company founded in 2020 that lets small grocery shops order stock and access financial services. In October 2025 it raised a $12 million Series A, which Wamda described as the largest Series A ever raised in Morocco, led by SPE Capital and Orange Ventures. Chari also became the first venture-backed startup in Morocco to obtain a payment institution licence from BAM. The licence lets it issue payment accounts with Moroccan IBANs and debit cards, offer acquiring through POS terminals and handle transfers, remittances and bill payments.

On funding, the government is trying to fill the gap left by private investors. In November 2025, under the Maroc Digital 2030 strategy, the digital transition ministry, the finance ministry, the Mohammed VI Investment Fund and the state-owned CDG signed an agreement on a facility to encourage new venture funds, according to Ecofin Agency. The stated targets for 2030 are at least 3,000 startups, one or two unicorns and up to 7 billion dirhams raised by the ecosystem.

Crowdfunding: a law, then licences

Morocco adopted a dedicated crowdfunding law, Law 15-18, but implementation took time. By mid-2024, BAM had published its implementing circulars and granted three approvals to crowdfunding platforms, and the capital markets authority (AMMC) had opened a portal for licence applications, according to Finances News Hebdo. The split of roles between the central bank and the market regulator is a useful reference for Tunisia, which has its own crowdfunding law.

Crypto: from a ban towards a licensing regime

Morocco banned crypto ownership and trading in 2017, arguing it breached foreign exchange rules. In November 2025, the finance ministry published Draft Bill No. 42.25 on crypto-assets, prepared with BAM and the AMMC and closely modelled on the EU's MiCA regulation. According to Morocco World News:

• service providers would need prior approval and must meet capital, governance and risk-control standards;
• the AMMC and BAM would share supervision, with BAM responsible for stablecoins, including their reserves and redemption;
• central bank digital currencies, NFTs and mining are outside the bill's scope.

In July 2026, BAM said in its annual banking supervision report that the bill was still under review. As of that date it had not been adopted, so the 2017 ban technically remains in force.

What Tunisia can learn from Morocco

Tunisia and Morocco face similar problems: heavy cash use, a bank-centred system and strict foreign exchange laws. Morocco's experience suggests four lessons:

• Use public payments to build wallet habits. Social transfers did more for Moroccan wallets than marketing did.
• Make the payment institution licence a real path for startups. Chari shows what a startup can build once licensed. Tunisia's equivalent is covered in payment institutions and e-money licensing.
• Replace a ban with rules. Morocco is moving from prohibition to a MiCA-style licensing regime. Tunisia's debate is covered in the legal status of crypto in Tunisia.
• Pair regulation with funding. Morocco's 2030 targets come with a state-backed facility for venture funds.

For figures side by side, see our Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt comparison.