Banking and payments in Morocco: three kinds of account, and why they must be at one bank

With a bank account in Morocco, the question of which account you open matters more than the question of which bank. The Office des Changes, which regulates foreign exchange, lets banks keep three kinds of account for foreigners, each with its own rules on what may go in and out. The trap is in one sentence of the 2026 exchange instruction: pension that came into your ordinary dirham account may be moved back to a convertible account for the last twelve months, but only if that account is at the same bank. If they are at two banks, that door closes.

Which accounts can you have?

Account	What the exchange instruction says about it
Ordinary dirham account	pension paid directly into it may be moved to a convertible account at the same bank for the last 12 months
Convertible dirham account	in: transfers from abroad and from other convertible accounts; out: any payment in Morocco or abroad, and cash withdrawals
Foreign currency account	the same rules as the convertible account

According to the Office des Changes, banks may open a foreign currency account and a convertible dirham account for any foreign natural person, resident or not. Neither may go overdrawn.

Where do you have your pension paid?

That is the question that decides the rest. The exchange instruction names exactly one way in which pension on an ordinary dirham account becomes convertible again: as a foreigner living in Morocco, you may transfer the pension amounts you received directly into your ordinary dirham account over the last twelve months to your convertible or foreign currency account. The bank asks for a copy of the pension statement. And the ordinary account must be at the same bank as the convertible one.

Open both accounts at one bank, and do it straight away. Whoever has their pension paid into an ordinary dirham account at bank A and later opens a convertible account at bank B can no longer convert that pension. That is no temporary inconvenience: the money then stays in non-convertible dirhams.

How does that connect with tax?

Morocco gives an 80% reduction on the tax on a foreign pension, but only on the amounts transferred definitively in non-convertible dirhams. To get the reduction, you attach to your annual return a statement from your pension payer and a statement from the bank on the amount in foreign currency and the dirham equivalent on the day of transfer. The return on pension income is due before 1 March of the following year.

That is where the trade-off lies: the reduction belongs to money that no longer leaves Morocco, while the convertible account is meant precisely to let it go. Which balance is right for you is a question for your adviser before the first transfer. How the tax treaty divides your pension is explained in state pension, pension and tax in Morocco.

How much cash may you bring?

Cash and other bearer instruments from 100,000 dirhams must be declared to customs, both on entry and on departure. Below that you may declare voluntarily, and that is wise: whoever wants to pay foreign banknotes into a convertible or foreign currency account must show the bank the original of that import declaration, at most six months old. The declaration itself is valid for one month for residents and six months for non-residents. Foreign banknotes you bring are in principle exchanged within thirty days of entry; as a resident foreigner you may also pay them into your foreign currency or convertible account within that period. When exchanging, you identify with your carte d'immatriculation or your passport.

What do you do if a bank refuses you or a complaint is not resolved?

Morocco has a right to an account. Whoever has no account and has applied to one or more banks by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt and been refused, can ask Bank Al-Maghrib to designate a bank. If the central bank finds the refusal unfounded, it designates a bank, which may however limit the account to cash transactions.

Step in a complaint	Deadline
Bank decides whether the complaint is admissible	10 working days
Final answer from the bank	at most 40 working days
After that: Centre Marocain de Médiation Bancaire	free and voluntary

If you want to change bank, Bank Al-Maghrib requires banks to facilitate the transfer of your account free of charge and without conditions.

What do you keep in the Netherlands?

Your Dutch account, for everything the Netherlands keeps paying you or debiting. The European right to a basic payment account only applies to those who live in the EU, so ask before departure what your bank does with customers in Morocco; how to arrange that is explained in keeping a bank account and DigiD.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.3: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Morocco or go straight to step 5.3 in the open plan.