Money in Morocco: ATMs, Cards, Tipping and a Tourist SIM

Cash and cards

Cards work in hotels and bigger restaurants, but cafes, taxis and market stalls prefer cash. ATMs are easy to find in every town. Some Moroccan banks add a fee of about 30 to 40 MAD per withdrawal, so take out larger amounts less often.

Tipping

Tipping is part of daily life in Morocco and it matters a lot to the people who look after you. As a simple rule, a tip starts at 50 MAD and goes up from there, and the more you give, the more it is appreciated.

Who	What to give
Restaurants	From 10% of the bill
Tour guides and drivers	From 10% of the tour price, and at least 200 MAD
Porters, hotel and camp staff	At least 50 MAD

Tip in dirhams, in cash, at the end of the service.

SIM cards

Morocco has three mobile networks: Maroc Telecom, Orange and inwi. All three sell prepaid SIM cards at the airports and in their shops in every town, and you need your passport to register the card. These are the current Maroc Telecom offers, also available as an e-SIM:

Maroc Telecom offer	Price	What you get
Essentiel Social Media	70 MAD	1 GB of internet and 1 hour of national calls, 30 days
Essentiel	120 MAD	20 GB of internet, 30 days
Essentiel Plus	200 MAD	45 GB of internet, 30 days
Essentiel Max	320 MAD	Unlimited internet and 9 hours of calls, 14 days

See the latest offers on the Maroc Telecom e-SIM page. Orange and inwi have similar prepaid packs, and coverage is good on all three in the cities and along the main roads.

The Moroccan dirham

The currency is the Moroccan dirham, MAD, divided into 100 centimes. It is a closed currency, so you get it inside the country. Euros, US dollars and British pounds are the easiest to exchange. As a rough guide, one euro is a little over ten dirhams and one US dollar a little under ten, but rates move, so check before you travel. You may bring in or take out up to 2,000 MAD in banknotes.

Changing money

• Bureaux de change in the cities and at the airports usually give fair rates with no commission.
• Bring clean, undamaged notes, because torn or very old notes are often refused.
• Banks also change money, but queues are longer.
• Keep your receipts if you want to change dirhams back when you leave.

Bargaining in the souks

In the souks, most prices are open to discussion. Decide what an item is worth to you before you ask the price, start lower, stay friendly and be ready to walk away. Fixed price shops and cooperatives exist too, and food, transport and most services have set prices. A good bargain is one where both sides smile.

Small change matters

Keep coins and small notes of 20 and 50 MAD for tips, taxis, parking attendants and public toilets. Large notes of 200 MAD can be hard to break in small shops and cafes.

Before you go

Read entry requirements and our Travel Guide.