Morocco Allows Individuals to Open Hard-Currency Accounts

A currency dealer counts Moroccan dirhams in a photo illustration at a currency exchange point in Casablanca, Morocco,June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/Illustration
A currency dealer counts Moroccan dirhams in a photo illustration at a currency exchange point in Casablanca, Morocco,June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/Illustration
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Morocco Allows Individuals to Open Hard-Currency Accounts

A currency dealer counts Moroccan dirhams in a photo illustration at a currency exchange point in Casablanca, Morocco,June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/Illustration
A currency dealer counts Moroccan dirhams in a photo illustration at a currency exchange point in Casablanca, Morocco,June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/Illustration

Moroccans who receive income from foreign sources are now allowed to open a hard-currency account or a convertible dirham account. Earlier, the income had to be converted to the Moroccan dirham within one month maximum of collecting the amount.

The Foreign Exchange Office (Office des Changes), that controls the system of foreign exchange, announced the new procedures to simplify the exchange operations carried out by residing individuals.

The procedures include uplifting the limit of the currency allocated for tourism, and e-trade – they also empower migrant Moroccans who transferred their taxation residency to Morocco in order to settle the fees and dues of loans related to licensed premises abroad.

The statement revealed that the new prerequisites allow banks to open a hard-currency account or a convertible dirham account for individuals unregistered in the commercial register and who receive incomes from foreign sources so that they cover their current spending abroad.

As for the fees and dues resulting from abroad real-estate loans, the statement determined the percentage of allowed transactions at 5 of the property value.

In the same context, the Foreign Exchange Office declared doubling the limit of amounts allocated for tourism from MAD100k to MAD200k (USD10.5k to USD21k) per annum. The remaining amount can be used at the end of the year to cover the coming year’s tourism expenses.

The Office further rose the annual limit of amounts dedicated to e-commerce from MAD10k to MAD15k (USD1.05k to USD1.58k).



Central Bank Chief: Morocco Preparing Law to Allow Cryptocurrencies

Representations of cryptocurrency Bitcoin are seen in this illustration taken November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Representations of cryptocurrency Bitcoin are seen in this illustration taken November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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Central Bank Chief: Morocco Preparing Law to Allow Cryptocurrencies

Representations of cryptocurrency Bitcoin are seen in this illustration taken November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Representations of cryptocurrency Bitcoin are seen in this illustration taken November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

A draft law on cryptocurrencies is undergoing the process of adoption in Morocco, the governor of its central bank, Abdellatif Jouahri, said on Tuesday.

The central bank, known as Bank Al Maghrib, "has prepared a draft law regulating crypto assets, which is currently in the adoption process," Jouahri told an international conference in Rabat.

Bank Al Maghrib was also exploring a central bank digital currency (CBDC), Reuters quoted him as saying.
"Regarding central bank digital currencies, and like many countries around the world, we are exploring to what extent this new form of currency could contribute to achieving certain public policy objectives, particularly in terms of financial inclusion," he said.