Morocco Raises Contactless Payment Limit to 600 Dirhams, Boosting Digital Transactions

24 February 2021 – byBladi.net · 1 min read

After its adoption during the health period, contactless payment seems to be taking hold in the habits of Moroccans. In collaboration with Visa and Mastercard, the Interbank Monetary Center (CMI) has raised the ceiling for contactless payments without PIN entry on electronic payment terminals (POS) to 600 DH instead of 400 DH today.

Contactless payment in Morocco is on the rise after a period of hesitation, says the Interbank Monetary Center (CMI). During the lockdown, it was widely adopted, as it was considered the safest way to counter the spread of the coronavirus. This contactless payment had been encouraged by the WHO as a barrier gesture against the pandemic.

Ismail Bellali, Deputy Director General of the CMI, said that in January 2021, 25% of the transactions made by Moroccan bank cards were contactless payments. According to him, this rate should reach 50% in the near future. "At the beginning of the health crisis, in April 2020, this share was only 10%. Some banking institutions in Morocco have already reached maturity in contactless payment, with a share of more than 50% of contactless payment in the total card transactions," he specifies.

In addition, the CMI is considering the elimination of the paper ticket for the holder, so that the transaction is dematerialized from end to end.

Category: Economy

Keywords:

Banks Coronavirus in Morocco (Covid-19)