In a country like Morocco, people are using their bank cards more and more, overall Moroccan electronic payment activity increased sharply during the first quarter of 2022. Online payments increased by 34% compared to 2021, according to the latest report of the Center Monétique International (CMI).
According to le360, the overall payment activity in Morocco picked up again during the first quarter of 2022, the number of transactions having increased by 15% compared to last year, i.e. 118.5 million transactions, while the overall amount increased by 10.09%, i.e. 96.7 billion dirham, indicates the International Electronic Payment Center (CMI) in its latest activity report.
To date, 18.3 million bank cards are in circulation in Morocco, including nearly 12.1 million cards with the “contactless” functionality, specifies the CMI, which indicates that payment activity has been more dynamic than withdrawal activity, with an increase in card payments of +26.2% in number of transactions and +16.2% in the overall amount.
By sector, payments by Moroccan bank cards are used primarily in mass distribution (24.8%), followed by clothing (10.3%), stations (9.6%), restaurants (7 .4%), health (6.1%), furniture and electrical items (5.1%), then other sectors (36.7%).
Withdrawals by bank card saw an increase of +11.4% in number of transactions and +9.6% in overall amount during the 1st quarter of 2022 compared to the same period of 2021.
The activity of Moroccan cards abroad achieved an increase of +33.4% in number of operations and +66.0% in overall amount during the 1st quarter of 2022 compared to the same period of the year 2021.
E-commerce is gaining ground
Merchant sites and invoice sites affiliated with the CMI carried out, for the three months of 2022 alone, nearly 6.3 million online payment transactions via bank cards, Moroccan and foreign, for a total amount of 2 .3 billion dirhams, up +34.3% in number and +19.3% in amount compared to the same period of 2021.
In detail, the online payment activity of Moroccan cards increased by +34.9% in number of transactions, from 4.4 million transactions during 2020 to 5.9 million transactions during the first quarter of 2022, and +15.1% in amount, going from 1.8 billion dirhams in 2020 to 2 billion dirhams in the first quarter of 2022.
The online payment activity of foreign cards increased by +25.8% in number of transactions, going from 308 thousand transactions during the year 2020 to 388 thousand transactions in the first quarter of 2022, and increased by +63.3% in amount, going from 166.8 million dirhams in 2020 to 272.4 million dirhams in the first quarter of 2022.
Weak growth of the ATM network
The extension of the ATM network has slowed down sharply with the installation of only 5 new ATMs during the first quarter of 2022. The network currently has 7,945 ATMs, indicates the CMI.
The best-equipped cities are Casablanca with 1,537 ATMs, Marrakech with 668 ATMs, Rabat with 652 ATMs, Tangier with 476 ATMs, Agadir with 418 ATMs and Fez with 401 ATMs.
The ATM network carried out during the first quarter of 2022, 87.2 million withdrawals made by Moroccan and foreign bank cards, up +11.3%, for a total amount of 84.5 billion dirhams, up + 9.6%. That is an average monthly activity of 4,399 withdrawal operations for a total amount of 4.2 million dirhams for each ATM.