Morocco's 2026 Interchange Fee Cap Lowered
Bank Al-Maghrib lowers the interchange cap to 0.50% excl. tax from 1 October 2026. What merchants really need to know about the impact on MDR with TKpay.
Bank Al-Maghrib's New Interchange Decision
The landscape of card payment fees in Morocco is changing in 2026. Through Bank Al-Maghrib decision n°265/W/2026, signed in early July 2026, the regulator lowers the general domestic interchange cap from 0.65% to 0.50% excl. tax, effective 1 October 2026. The measure reflects a clear intent: to democratize electronic payment and reduce the costs borne by merchants.
To understand this change properly, it helps to recall what interchange actually is and how it fits into the total cost you pay. That is the whole point of this article: to give you a clear-eyed reading, with no exaggerated promises.
What Is the Interchange Fee?
The interchange fee is the share of a transaction paid back to the bank that issued your customer's card. It is one of the components of your MDR (Merchant Discount Rate), meaning the total commission charged on each card payment. For a detailed explanation of how the MDR is composed, read our dedicated guide: card payment fees in Morocco explained.
The recent history of the cap is simple:
| Decision | Date | General cap (excl. tax) |
|---|---|---|
| First decision | September 2024 | 0.65% |
| Decision n°265/W/2026 | July 2026 (effective 1 Oct. 2026) | 0.50% |
In under two years, the general cap therefore moves from 0.65% to 0.50% excl. tax, a reduction of roughly 0.15 point on this single component.
The Special 0.15% Excl. Tax Cap
Beyond the general cap, the decision introduces a special cap of 0.15% excl. tax, markedly lower, for two specific categories:
- e-Gov services: payments tied to online public and administrative services.
- Small and proximity merchants: to encourage electronic payment adoption as close to the ground as possible.
This reduced cap reflects a clear priority: supporting the players who contribute most to digital payment inclusion.
The Crucial Nuance: Interchange Is Not the Total Commission
This is the most important point of the reform, and the one many merchants risk misreading: interchange is only one component of your MDR, not the entire MDR.
Your total commission is made up of several elements:
- The interchange fee: paid to the issuing bank (this is the part being capped).
- The payment network fee: charged by the card scheme.
- The acquiring margin and running costs: retained by your provider for processing, terminal maintenance, support, and settlement management.
This last component remains after the cap is lowered. In other words, your total commission does not automatically fall 1:1 with the interchange cut. The professional association APEP specifically stressed this nuance, to prevent merchants from expecting a mechanical reduction that will not necessarily occur in those proportions.
The reduction actually felt will depend on how each acquirer chooses to pass the lower cap through to its overall pricing.
The Full Fee Stack in Detail
To see clearly why the 0.50% cap does not equal your total commission, here are the components that stack up on each transaction:
| Component | Goes to | Role | Covered by the cap? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interchange fee | Card-issuing bank | Compensates the customer's bank | Yes: capped at 0.50% excl. tax (general) / 0.15% excl. tax (small proximity merchants) |
| Scheme fees | Card networks (Visa / Mastercard) | Use of the scheme infrastructure | No (varies) |
| National switch fees | National payment network | Routing transactions via the national interbank switch | No (varies) |
| Acquirer fees / margin | Your payment provider | Processing, terminal, support, settlement | No (varies) |
Key takeaway: the Bank Al-Maghrib cap lowers interchange only. The other components (scheme, national switch, acquiring margin) remain and vary across providers. That is exactly why your total MDR does not fall 1:1 with the cap, and why choosing a transparent provider (like TKpay, with no hidden fees) still matters.
What Is Excluded from the Cap
The decision specifies several cases excluded from the cap. For these situations, the general cap rules do not apply:
- Large and medium-sized retail
- Integrated or franchised chains
- Legal entities ("personnes morales", cardholders attached to corporate entities)
- ATM cash withdrawals
- Tripartite-scheme cards
- Foreign-issued cards
For a business in a tourist zone, where a significant share of transactions comes from foreign-issued cards, this exclusion is worth keeping in mind: the lower domestic cap does not cover those payments.
Surcharging Remains Forbidden
An essential reminder accompanies this reform: the lower interchange cap changes nothing about the ban on surcharging. A merchant still cannot charge the card commission to the customer. The displayed price must stay identical whatever settlement method is chosen (cash, card, or mobile payment).
In other words, the reform acts on the cost you bear, not on any ability to transfer it to the cardholder, which remains prohibited.
How TKpay Supports This Transition
At TKpay, we see this regulatory change as good news for the merchant ecosystem, provided it is read correctly. Our positioning does not change: pricing transparency.
- No hidden fees: the commission advertised is the actual commission, with no month-end surprises.
- No terminal rental: SUNMI P2 and P3 terminals are provided as part of your contract.
- Detailed dashboard: every transaction shows the amount, the commission deducted, and the net settled, letting you track the real effect of the lower cap on your costs.
- A Bank Al-Maghrib authorized player: TKpay operates within the regulatory framework defined by the regulator, through the national payment network.
We do not claim our prices drop automatically overnight. We state something more useful: because our pricing is already competitive and free of hidden fees, you are well positioned to benefit from the underlying trend toward lower payment costs, and to measure its impact precisely.
What Merchants Should Take Away
To sum up the concrete action points:
- The general interchange cap falls from 0.65% to 0.50% excl. tax on 1 October 2026 (decision n°265/W/2026).
- A special cap of 0.15% excl. tax applies to e-Gov services and small proximity merchants.
- Your total commission does not fall automatically in the same proportions: interchange is only one component.
- Check your statements and compare them against your contract terms to measure the real effect. Our article on how to reduce your transaction fees as a merchant gives you the method.
- Surcharging remains forbidden: you cannot charge the commission to the customer.
Conclusion: Read the Reform with a Transparent Partner
The lower interchange cap decided by Bank Al-Maghrib is a step forward for Moroccan merchants, but its real effect depends on your provider's transparency. Discover our TKpay payment terminals to support your business in this new framework. Contact TKpay for a clear reading of your pricing and to understand, with the figures to back it up, how this change translates concretely for your business.
