Morocco is Transforming Tourism by Creating a Seamless Cashless Experience for Global Visitors and Paving the Way for Unstoppable Economic Growth

Morocco is set to revolutionize its tourism sector by embracing a cashless payment system, a strategic move aimed at modernizing the country’s infrastructure to meet the evolving expectations of global travelers. With millions of tourists visiting each year, Morocco’s outdated payment methods have been limiting the country’s ability to fully capture potential revenue. By launching the “Stay Cashless” initiative, Morocco is making a bold leap toward offering seamless, secure, and efficient payment solutions that align with international standards, ensuring a smoother experience for visitors while unlocking significant economic growth for the nation.

Morocco is taking bold steps to modernize its tourism sector by embracing a cashless payment system. With nearly 20 million visitors in 2025, the country is increasingly becoming a global tourism hub. However, outdated payment methods have created friction, limiting potential economic growth. The “Stay Cashless” initiative aims to streamline digital transactions for tourists, offering secure, internationally accepted payment solutions. This move is essential for Morocco to meet the expectations of modern travelers, enhance visitor satisfaction, and unlock billions in untapped revenue, positioning the nation as a forward-thinking, competitive destination.

Morocco’s tourism sector is facing a significant challenge: the country’s reliance on cash is hindering its ability to fully capitalize on the growing number of international visitors. Despite attracting millions of tourists, the lack of a robust digital payment infrastructure is frustrating travelers and costing the economy billions in potential revenue.

The Moroccan Ministry of Tourism, alongside Attijariwafa Bank and Visa, has taken a step towards transforming the country’s payment system by launching the “Stay Cashless” initiative. This program, which was officially signed on in Rabat, aims to accelerate the adoption of digital payments across the tourism sector, thereby offering international visitors a smooth and secure payment experience throughout their stay.

The initiative is designed to address the growing demand for digital solutions that cater to the modern traveler. Tourists are increasingly accustomed to using their credit and debit cards for every purchase, and Morocco, as an emerging tourism hotspot, must evolve to meet this expectation. Through the “Stay Cashless” program, Morocco plans to provide secure payment options that can be used across a variety of local businesses, from hotels and restaurants to souvenir shops and taxis.

One of the key offerings of the initiative includes reduced international transaction fees, pay-by-link services, tap-on-phone technology, and dynamic currency conversion tools. These will allow smaller businesses, particularly in tourist-heavy areas, to bring their payment systems in line with international standards. These changes are crucial for Morocco to maintain its competitive edge as a leading travel destination.

Morocco has already proven to be an attractive destination for tourists. According to data from the Ministry of Tourism, the country welcomed nearly 20 million visitors in 2025, exceeding the expectations set for 2026. Yet, the country’s payment infrastructure remains outdated and ill-equipped to handle the growing number of tourists.

Bank Al-Maghrib’s 2024 data revealed that over 60% of card payments were ATM withdrawals, with currency in circulation reaching MAD 444.3 billion, or approximately 26% of the country’s GDP. The number of POS terminals remains disproportionately low, with only 94,387 terminals available nationwide, mainly concentrated in large cities like Casablanca, Rabat, and Marrakech. This lack of accessibility to digital payment methods in smaller tourist cities, such as Agadir and Fez, creates an uneven experience for visitors.

Visa has emphasized that this partnership is not just a technical collaboration but a crucial element of Morocco’s broader growth strategy. The financial company sees this initiative as an engine for economic growth, where data and innovation will help digitize the entire tourism value chain. The program also targets small and medium-sized businesses by offering training and tools to help them improve their services and adapt to the evolving expectations of travelers.

In preparation for major global events such as the 2030 FIFA World Cup and the African Cup of Nations, which are expected to attract large volumes of international visitors, Morocco’s payment systems need to modernize. These events will bring tourists from around the world who are accustomed to cashless payments and expect a seamless transaction experience throughout their stay.

This shift towards digital payments is not only a local concern. Globally, countries are moving away from cash. In Europe, the EU has introduced anti-money laundering measures that restrict cash payments to a maximum of €10,000. Nordic countries have taken a similar approach, with cash payments dropping below 5% of in-store transactions. In Asia, digital payments, such as China’s Alipay and WeChat Pay, dominate retail, and in India, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processes billions of transactions monthly. The Middle East, too, is ahead of the curve, with over 90% of transactions in the UAE being contactless, through cards, phones, or wearable devices.

Morocco has taken several important steps toward reforming its payment landscape. Since October 2024, interchange fees have been capped at 0.65%, and the Competition Council recently dismantled the Centre Monétique Interbancaire’s long-standing quasi-monopoly, opening up the acquiring market to banks and specialized providers. However, despite these efforts, mobile payments remain underused, with only 28% of mobile wallets being active in 2024. This has resulted in mobile payments accounting for just 2% of non-cash transactions.

Furthermore, there are still significant hurdles to overcome. Many Moroccan merchants engage in illegal practices such as refusing foreign cards, imposing surcharges, or setting minimum amounts for card payments. Although the Competition Council has reminded merchants that surcharging is illegal, enforcement remains weak. High transaction fees for foreign cards — often 2-3% plus foreign exchange margins of 3-5% — deter merchants from fully embracing digital payments, particularly in sectors with narrow profit margins.

The issue is further compounded by the limitations of ATM withdrawals, which are capped at 2,000 MAD per transaction, and additional foreign exchange markups and fees for international cards. This creates frustration for tourists who are forced to make repeated trips to ATMs, incurring multiple fees while carrying large sums of cash.

Culturally, many small merchants are hesitant to adopt digital payment systems due to concerns about technology, tax compliance, and financial oversight. With an informal economy making up nearly 30% of Morocco’s GDP, many small-scale businesses avoid digital payments as a way to keep transactions off the books.

Despite these challenges, Morocco has set ambitious targets. The country aims to welcome 26 million tourists by 2030 and handle 80 million airport passengers. The government is investing billions into rail and aviation infrastructure to support these goals, but the success of these projects depends on the implementation of efficient, cashless payment systems that cater to modern travelers.

For the European traveler accustomed to seamless digital payments, Morocco’s current payment landscape can be frustrating. Visitors often encounter difficulties using their cards at small businesses, ATM withdrawal limits, and high transaction fees. These issues create an image of a country that is struggling to keep pace with the digital economy, despite its booming tourism sector.

The launch of the “Stay Cashless” initiative is a step in the right direction, with an action plan in place to roll out payment terminals and training for tourism SMEs. However, the success of this initiative will depend on overcoming entrenched practices, addressing high fees, and ensuring that digital payments become as ubiquitous as cash. If Morocco is to become a truly modern, competitive destination, it must make it easier for visitors to pay for goods and services with the same ease they experience in other global tourist hubs like Paris, Dubai, and Tokyo.

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