User experience, innovation and trust dominated discussions at the second panel of the 7th Moroccan Consumer Day, held Thursday in Casablanca, as industry figures examined the levers most likely to accelerate the adoption of electronic payments across Morocco. The gathering brought together representatives of payment institutions, card infrastructure providers, digital players and academia to assess the conditions needed to democratize e-payment usage.
Zakia Eddary, CEO of CDM Pay, said that expanding the merchant acceptance network remains the priority for advancing digital payments, noting that reliance on cash is often tied to the absence of electronic payment options at many points of sale. She stressed the importance of designing solutions around genuine user needs, favoring simplicity and continuous service improvement to drive adoption.
Moulay Ahmed Ouazzani, a board member at Damane Payment, described the opening of the card-acquiring market as a major turning point for the national payment ecosystem, pointing to expected gains in competition, lower merchant fees and more diverse offerings. He noted that the full effects of this transformation will take time to materialize as new acquirers ramp up activity, but said the shift already paves the way for greater competitiveness and innovation.
Mehdi Ouaddou, director of operations at Switch Al Maghrib, said national payment infrastructure has the capacity needed to support the rising wave of digital usage, crediting this resilience to continuous investment in technical capabilities and system security. He highlighted spending on service continuity, transaction monitoring, AI-based fraud detection and dispute-management tools aimed at making payments smoother and safer.
Hazim Sebbata, CEO of ScreenEdge, argued that adoption ultimately depends on how simply innovations meet consumer needs, citing perceived value, ease of use and trust as the primary drivers of adoption for new payment methods. He called for a more user-centered approach, urging industry players to design innovations around real-world usage rather than technological possibility alone.
Jaouad Dabounou, a professor at Hassan II University in Casablanca, added an academic perspective on shifting consumer behavior amid digital transformation. The event was organized by Consonews under the aegis of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
