Morocco CBDC Tracker

Morocco is currently in the research phase. The Bank Al-Maghrib, Morocco’s central bank, has been researching CBDCs since at least 2019. Bank Al-Maghrib governor Abdellatif Jouahri told Reuters in 2024, “[W]e are exploring to what extent this new form of currency could contribute to achieving certain public policy objectives, particularly in terms of financial inclusion.” However, the central bank has not yet made the decision to pilot or launch a CBDC (sometimes called an e-Dirham).

CBDC History and Development

The Bank Al-Maghrib mentioned CBDCs in its 2019 annual report. After a brief discussion about cryptocurrency, the central bank noted, “Against this background, some Central Banks have launched reflections on the opportunity to issue their own digital currency (CBDC).” The central bank went on to describe the benefits and risks of issuing a CBDC. On the positive side, the central bank thought a CBDC could preserve monetary sovereignty, guarantee access to central bank money, improve financial inclusion, and improve technology. On the negative side, the central bank worried that a CBDC would undermine banks and lead to cyber-security threats. Ultimately, the report concluded that “a possible initiative in this area would only be possible after further improvement in financial inclusion and reduced cash circulation, which implies a certain change in the habits of the use of payment means.”

In 2021, the Bank Al-Maghrib’s annual report included an update on “recent developments relating to the introduction of central bank digital currencies.” This update primarily summarized the developments in China, Sweden, The Bahamas, and the United States. As for the Bank Al-Maghrib’s activity, the report noted that “It is worth recalling that the value of CBDCs lies in their potential to foster financial innovation[, foster] financial inclusion[,] reduce transaction costs[,] improve monetary policy-making, reduce the financial cost and environmental impact of cash[,] and contribute to the fight against terrorist financing and money laundering.” Against this backdrop, the report shared that the Bank Al-Maghrib created a committee in 2021 to study “the opportunity, modalities, and consequences of issuing a CBDC.”

The Bank Al-Maghrib’s 2022 annual report briefly reiterated that the “Central Bank Digital Currency Committee… is mandated to examine issues related to Central Bank Digital Currency and other digital assets with a view to exploring the issue further.” Aside from that, the only other update was that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund provided technical support to help the Bank Al-Maghrib “identify the strategic priority objectives to which digital currency could contribute in the national context.”

In the summer of 2023, Morocco World News reported that Bank Al-Maghrib governor Abdellatif Jouahri said, “The complexity and challenges related to CBDCs highlight the need to continue and deepen the debate. It goes without saying that the motivations and challenges of a CBDC differ from one country to another, especially between advanced economies on one side and emerging and developing economies on the other.” Morocco World News further reported that Bank Al-Maghrib was working with the International Monetary Fund, Bank for International Settlements, and other central banks to research CBDCs.

The Bank Al-Maghrib’s 2023 annual report confirmed that the central bank’s CBDC Committee was still “tasked with identifying and analyzing the contributions, benefits, and risks of a CBDC and other digital assets for the national economy.” The report also noted that the central bank’s “efforts centered on conducting a study on the impact of the CBDC on financial inclusion and the use of cash in Morocco, finalizing preparatory work with a view to initiating consultation with priority stakeholders, producing the first PoC (Proof of Concept) and reflecting on the financial integrity required.”

In November 2024, Bank Al-Maghrib governor Abdellatif Jouahri told Reuters, “Regarding central bank digital currencies, and like many countries around the world, we are exploring to what extent this new form of currency could contribute to achieving certain public policy objectives, particularly in terms of financial inclusion.”

Human Rights and Civil Liberties Concerns

Morocco earned a 37 out of 100 in Freedom House’s 2024 Freedom in the World report. As noted in the report and elsewhere, financial control, surveillance, and corruption are issues in Morocco. The issuance or adoption of a CBDC in Morocco could worsen these issues.

Freedom House reported that “Authorities have canceled numerous AMDH [(Moroccan Association for Human Rights)] events in recent years and are known to impede its efforts to rent space and open bank accounts.” The government even banned cryptocurrency transactions in 2017—a move that the government started to reconsider in 2024. Unfortunately, a CBDC could be used as another tool in this effort. Across the world, governments have often turned to freezing and seizing the money of activists, political rivals, and protestors to undermine the opposition. A CBDC would make such initiatives easier by allowing governments to take direct control of each citizen’s finances.

“State surveillance of online activity and personal communications is a serious concern, and the arrests of journalists, bloggers, and activists for critical speech serve as a deterrent to uninhibited debate among the broader population,” according to Freedom House. “The use of spyware and surveillance technologies, especially Pegasus, by the government is widespread, and partly responsible for increasing self-censorship by journalists and fears of retaliation for investigative work.” Unfortunately, a CBDC could be used to greatly expand surveillance by putting financial records on government databases by default.

“Corruption is rife in state institutions, the economy, and day-to-day life,” reported Freedom House. The existence of pervasive corruption is a major concern with CBDCs because it calls into question any promises that might be made by the government to limit surveillance, control, or other risks of CBDCs. Furthermore, the existence of corruption calls into question whether CBDC policies might be designed to exert political favoritism through subsidies, price controls, or other targeted restrictions.

For additional information on concerns regarding violations of human rights and civil liberties, see the following reports by Amnesty International, Financial Tyranny Index, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Privacy International, and the U.S. Department of State. For additional information on concerns regarding the risks of CBDCs, see the following webpage and report by the Cato Institute: The Risks of CBDCs and Central Bank Digital Currency: Assessing the Risks and Dispelling the Myths.

For additional information regarding metrics, the methodology page explains each of the data points and provides their respective sources.