Morocco’s Interbank Monetary Center (CMI) has successfully maintained uninterrupted payment services throughout the national payment ecosystem’s comprehensive transformation into a multi-acquirer market, Director General Rachid Saihi told la Vie Eco. The transition, which began November 1, 2024, follows twenty-one years of structural innovations modernizing payment acceptance nationwide.
The CMI expects to process nearly 240 million payment transactions in 2025, representing approximately 15 percent growth, with 85 percent involving Moroccan cards. Merchants affiliated with CMI should receive close to 100 billion dirhams, marking 13 percent growth. Foreign card payments would contribute roughly 32 billion dirhams, providing significant foreign currency inflows.
Saihi emphasized the CMI’s pivotal role transforming the payment landscape from commercial acquirer to neutral multi-acquirer technical platform. Seven partner payment institutions have operated since May 1, 2025. The organization modernized infrastructure, reinforced security systems, consolidated real-time supervision, and adapted internal processes supporting new acquirer capacity increases.
The CMI’s merchant contract assignment procedure, regulated by authorities and responsibly governed, proceeds in two phases—by January 1, 2026, for commercial activity merchants and April 30, 2026, for public administrations. Initial notifications were dispatched via registered mail and email on December 1, 2025, with responses expected by December 15.
Throughout the transition, point-of-sale terminals continue functioning normally with CMI maintaining all services including technical operations, equipment management, platform operations, assistance, supervision, and transaction processing. Merchants experience unchanged payment collection with identical terminals, online payment services, payment processes, and security. The sole visible difference appears in new acquirer logos on receipts.
Under the new model, commercial relationships and fund management transfer to new acquirers. This evolution creates opportunities as each acquirer proposes distinct services, offers, and support approaches, stimulating innovation and enriching available services while providing merchants greater choice.
The CMI’s 2026 priorities include absolute payment reliability through enhanced availability, improved supervision, and consolidated security. Completing the ongoing transformation with total interoperability, smooth integrations, and increased technical support represents another major focus. Development of new Fatourati services, SoftPOS expansion, payment process modernization, and intelligent connected terminals deployment comprise additional structural initiatives supporting national priorities including Digital Morocco 2030 strategy, financial inclusion, and economic competitiveness.
