Open Bank Account Morocco Foreigner 2026 — Convertible Dirhams, Moving Money Out
GUIDES · MOROCCO
Key Facts
- —What it is a dirham account fed from abroad whose balance you may lawfully send out again.
- —Who it’s for foreigners in Morocco, resident or not, who may move money out later.
- —What it costs no official minimum deposit; each bank sets and publishes its own account fees.
- —Why it matters convertibility, not the bank you pick, decides whether your money can leave Morocco.
- —The catch money that entered Morocco as local dirhams usually leaves slowly, in yearly instalments.
Open bank account Morocco foreigner questions all end in the same place: whether the account you signed for lets your money leave the country again.
Open bank account Morocco foreigner rules in 2026 turn on one word: convertibility. It decides whether money you bring into Morocco can ever leave again.
Open Bank Account Morocco Foreigner Rules Start With the Account Type
A foreigner can open a bank account in Morocco fairly easily. The harder question is which account, because Morocco still runs exchange controls.
Every transfer out of the country needs a basis in the national foreign-exchange rulebook. That rulebook is the Instruction Générale des Opérations de Change, issued by the Office des Changes.
Its 2026 version took effect on 1 January 2026 and replaced the version of 2 January 2024. It runs to 256 articles in six chapters, one of which deals only with accounts.
So the first question is not which bank a foreigner should open an account with in Morocco. It is which account that bank will open in your name.
Figures here are dated. Dirham amounts carry a dollar equivalent at 21 September 2026 exchange rates, 9.54 dirhams to the dollar.
What a Convertible Dirham Account Is, and How It Is Fed
The dirham is not a freely traded currency. Morocco therefore created accounts that keep foreign money legally foreign, even while it sits in dirhams.
Article 228 of the 2026 rulebook lets banks open foreign-currency accounts and convertible dirham accounts for foreign individuals. It applies whether the holder is resident in Morocco or not.
The credit side is the whole mechanism. These accounts may be fed by transfers from abroad, by transfers from other convertible accounts, and by foreign means of payment.
Local dirhams earned in Morocco cannot be paid in. That single restriction is what keeps the balance transferable.
The debit side is deliberately wide. The rulebook allows any payment in Morocco or abroad from these accounts, including banknote withdrawals.
Banks may also issue chequebooks and international payment cards to holders of these accounts. Online banking is normal at the larger networks, though opening usually still happens in a branch.
Resident or Non-Resident, and Why the Card Is Not the Test
Many guides say a Moroccan residence card turns a foreigner into a resident for exchange control. The rulebook is narrower.
It defines a resident individual as a person, Moroccan or foreign, treated as resident under Moroccan tax law. Tax residence, not the plastic card, is the test.
The practical effect is milder than the folklore. A foreigner who becomes resident can still open a convertible bank account in Morocco.
What changes is the ordinary dirham account beside it. Money earned locally sits there, and it moves abroad only under the specific rules set out below.
The Documents, and the Paper Trail That Matters Later
Banks ask every foreigner who wants to open a bank account in Morocco for the same core papers. Expect a passport, proof of address, and proof of income or source of funds.
Residents add a Moroccan registration card. Newly hired foreign staff who do not yet hold one may be given a temporary dirham account instead.
That temporary account runs for six months, and it may be debited for transfers of savings out of salary. If the card is never produced, transferring the closing balance needs prior approval from the Office des Changes.
For every settlement, the bank must issue a standard justification form and hand the client a copy. Keep those forms, the credit advices and the exchange slips.
One of those forms exists precisely for a foreigner funding an investment in Morocco from a convertible dirham account. It is the document that proves, years later, where the money came from.
Choosing a Bank, Fees and Minimums
Any licensed bank in Morocco may open these accounts for a foreigner, so the brand matters less than the product. The right is granted to banks generally, not to one favoured institution.
Expat guides most often mention Attijariwafa Bank, Banque Populaire, Bank of Africa, CIH Bank and the postal bank, Al Barid Bank. No official ranking of banks for foreigners exists, and those guides are not regulators.
Morocco’s exchange rules set no minimum deposit for these accounts. Each bank fixes its own opening deposit, account-keeping fee and card fee, and publishes them in its tariff schedule.
No central comparison of those tariffs is published, so ask two or three branches in writing first.
Cash, Customs Declarations and ATMs
Cash still matters in daily life in Morocco, and card acceptance is concentrated in cities, hotels and larger shops. Expat banking guides, not official data, are the source for that picture.
Bringing banknotes in is governed by a declaration threshold. Means of payment worth 100,000 dirhams (about US$10,500) or more must be declared to customs on entry.
A voluntary declaration is possible below that threshold. It stays valid for one month for residents and six months for non-residents.
To pay foreign banknotes into a convertible or foreign-currency account, the bank must see the original customs declaration, dated within six months. An exchange slip dated within one month works if the notes came out of the same account.
Taking banknotes out again is declared the same way, and a non-resident must show the import declaration. Withdrawals from convertible accounts are not capped by the rules, but each bank and card sets its own daily limits.
Moving Salary, Pension and Travel Money Out
Nothing about the choice to open a bank account in Morocco traps a foreigner’s salary here. The rulebook treats salaries, pensions and professional income earned locally as work income that may be transferred abroad.
The transferable amount is what is left after Moroccan tax and social contributions. Salary and pension transfers may run monthly, and arrears may cover the last twelve months.
Retirees have a second, quieter right. A foreign pension paid into an ordinary dirham account may be moved into a convertible account for the last twelve months.
The bank needs a copy of the pension statement, and both accounts must sit at the same bank.
Foreign residents also qualify for the personal travel allowance. The base amount is 100,000 dirhams (about US$10,500) per person per calendar year, for travel starting from Morocco.
It can be topped up by 30% of the income tax you paid the previous year. The total is capped at 500,000 dirhams (about US$52,400) per person per calendar year.
Selling a Property and Repatriating the Proceeds
This is where costly mistakes happen. The rulebook gives its transfer guarantee only to foreign investments financed in foreign currency.
Property is where the decision to open the right bank account in Morocco pays a foreigner back. Buying a building counts as a foreign investment, and so do construction works, shares and term deposits.
When such an investment is financed in foreign currency, it falls under the convertibility regime. That regime guarantees free transfer of the income it produces and of the proceeds of its sale or liquidation.
To release a sale, the bank must see proof that Moroccan taxes on the transaction were paid. It must also see the original payment records of the investment, plus copies of the purchase deed and the sale deed.
When Convertibility Does Not Apply
Suppose the property was bought with dirhams that never came from abroad. The sale then falls outside the convertibility regime, and the money cannot simply be wired out.
The proceeds, after tax, must be paid into a term convertible account in the seller’s name. Only non-resident foreign persons may hold such an account.
From there the balance leaves in four equal tranches of 25% each. The first may be transferred as soon as the funds are credited.
The other three fall due yearly, on the anniversary of that credit. A tranche that has fallen due can then be transferred at any time.
So a badly documented sale takes about three years to leave the country. That is the real price of skipping the paperwork at the buying stage.
One more account type deserves a warning. A foreigner who leaves Morocco for good may be given a special dirham account, and it allows no transfer abroad.
FATCA, US Persons and Reporting
FATCA is the United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. It obliges banks outside the United States to identify and report accounts held by US persons.
Morocco is a Model 1 partner jurisdiction under that law, according to the US Treasury. Treasury lists Morocco as treated as having an agreement in effect since 30 June 2014.
A US citizen can still open a bank account in Morocco like any other foreigner. Expect extra forms, usually a self-certification of tax residence and a US tax form.
Morocco Next to Tunisia and Egypt
All three countries supervise foreign exchange, but they do it differently. The comparison below rests on United States government country guides.
Morocco’s dirham trades within a 5% band around a reference rate weighted 60% to the euro and 40% to the dollar. Current payments are delegated to banks, while capital transfers need the Office des Changes.
Tunisia’s dinar is convertible for current-account transactions, and convertible-currency accounts are available on application to its central bank. Foreign investors may move out profits and equity-sale proceeds, while other transfers may need central-bank approval.
Egypt has allowed foreign-currency accounts since a 2003 law, and moved to a flexible exchange rate in March 2024. Access to hard currency has still been rationed at times, and banks have limited card spending abroad.
Morocco writes its account rules down in detail, which makes the outcome of a transfer easier to foresee. That is predictability, not superiority.
For your own life, that is the point. If you may one day leave Morocco with your savings, the account you open on day one is the decision that matters.
Morocco issues no comparison of bank tariffs for foreigners, so costs must be checked bank by bank.
Connected Coverage
Moving to Morocco and the paperwork that decides everything else
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a foreigner open a bank account in Morocco without a residence card?
Yes. The 2026 exchange rulebook lets banks open foreign-currency and convertible dirham accounts for foreign individuals, resident or not. You will still need a passport, proof of address and proof of your source of funds.
What is a convertible dirham account, and why does it matter?
It is a dirham account fed only from abroad, by transfer or by declared foreign means of payment. Because local dirhams cannot be paid in, the balance keeps its foreign origin. The rules then allow payments out of it, in Morocco or abroad, without a separate authorisation.
Can I repatriate the proceeds when I sell a property in Morocco?
Yes, if the purchase was financed in foreign currency and properly documented. The transfer guarantee then covers the sale proceeds, once Moroccan taxes on the transaction are settled. Your bank will ask for the original payment records and copies of both the purchase and sale deeds.
What happens if the property was bought with local dirhams?
The sale falls outside the convertibility regime. The net proceeds must go into a term convertible account, which only non-resident foreigners may hold. The balance then leaves in four equal tranches of 25%, the first immediately and the others on each yearly anniversary.
How much money can a foreign resident take out for travel?
The personal travel allowance is 100,000 dirhams (about US$10,500) per person per calendar year. It can be increased by 30% of the income tax you paid in the previous year. The combined total is capped at 500,000 dirhams (about US$52,400) per person per year.
How does Morocco compare with Tunisia and Egypt?
United States government country guides describe all three as supervised foreign-exchange systems. Tunisia’s dinar is convertible for current transactions, with some capital transfers needing central-bank approval. Egypt allows foreign-currency accounts but has rationed hard currency at times. Morocco’s strength is detail, because its account rules are written down and easier to predict.
Sources: Rules and figures come from the Office des Changes and its 2026 Instruction Générale des Opérations de Change, the United States Treasury FATCA jurisdiction list, the United States country commercial guides for Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt, the United States investment climate statement for Egypt, and Moroccan practitioner guidance on convertible accounts.
- oc.gov.ma
- oc.gov.ma
- home.treasury.gov
- trade.gov
- trade.gov
- trade.gov
- state.gov
- upsilon-consulting.com
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