Ramadan Consumer Credit Offers in Morocco Raise Concerns Over Hidden Costs

The month of Ramadan is a peak period for consumer credit. Financing companies are benefiting from a well-oiled communication strategy. Even if they are constrained by the COVID-19 crisis, they are "bargaining" their products.

According to L’Économiste, "before committing, customers must inquire about what is presented as promotions" at the counters of financing companies, because "the information on the interest rate, the overall cost of the credit is not always readable." The newspaper also reveals that the high cost of processing fees can range from "2,000 to 7,484 dirhams for a 60,000 dirham consumer loan repayable over 36 months, interest-free, at Wafasalaf."

The newspaper relies on the statement of the chairman of the executive board of the Badr Alioua company, who explains that "the construction of offers is based on the cost of credit, thus leaving the customer the margin of choice." Moreover, these Wafasalaf offers comply with the regulations of Bank Al-Maghrib and the conditions set by the law on consumer protection.

Regarding the promotional offers at this time, the same daily notes that Salafin for example, "offers a loan formula of 20,000 dirhams over 36 months at a rate of 8.75% excluding taxes and processing fees of 2,000 dirhams." At Vivalis, it is "an offer of 100,000 dirhams over 60 months at a rate of 11% for processing fees of 3,000 dirhams."

In view of all these offers, the newspaper considers that "consumer credit companies are condemned to find new differentiation factors, given the attacks of banking networks that push them to build proposals that are also complex."