The Kingdom of Morocco is an African country located in the north of Africa. Its capital is the city of Rabat, while the largest city in it is Casablanca. the Amazigh & Arabic language or “Darija” is the official language in it alongside with French that is spread as a second language. Today, our main topic is Morocco currency or Dirham.
The Moroccan currency is the dirham (DH). Its denotation worldwide is by MAD or DH. It is equivalent to 0.10 US dollars. There are paper money starting from
- 20DH 70 x 130 mm purple paper
- 50DH 70 × 137 mm green paper
- 100DH 70 × 144mm orange paper
- 200DH 70 ×151 mm turquoise paper
The coins are 10, 20, and 50 cents and 1, 2, 5, and 10DH. Bank Al-Maghrib (Bank of Morocco), the central bank, is responsible for issuing and maintaining Moroccan foreign reserves.
The most recent banknotes contain a picture of the royal crown and King Mohammed VI. The Moroccan door is located on the left side of the banknotes, and these images symbolize the importance of Moroccan architecture as a part of the kingdom’s historic and cultural heritage.
Morocco money: How do you change money in Morocco?
In every city, you will find exchange offices almost everywhere. Unlike other countries, they or not attached to a bank. You can go to the banks as well, but their hours are more limited (from 8 AM to 4 AM). If you are considering to change money in the bank, the paper money must be in good condition for exchange. If they are torn no bank would accept them.
Each office can apply its own rate as it varies little from one place to another. The only thing for sure is that there is no commission. In Morocco, the operation is better than withdrawing cash via ATM or paying by card, which always imposes fees.
The only thing to remember in general is to avoid changing at the airport. The rate there is often much cheaper than in the city itself.
Morocco currency: What is the Morocco dirham?
The Moroccans used silver, copper, and gold coins before 1882 AD, and these currencies were classified in dirham, money, and a pendulum. In a later period, most of Morocco came under French control. Therefore, the currency changed to the Moroccan franc instead of the dirham. Morocco continued to use this currency until 1960, and after that, the franc was replaced by the Moroccan dirham.
During your holiday in Morocco, try to always keep some cash with you. In Morocco, almost everyone pays in cash (dirham) in shops or restaurants. It is also the safest form of payment. In any case, traders in the souks, traditional markets, do not have a card swipe machine.
Some places, especially in tourist areas, accept euros because of the enormous number of French tourists. With tourism, the Euro currency has become an acceptable currency in some places such as riads and hotels, they accept US dollars as well which saves you hours of waiting and looking for change offices. Hotels, restaurants, and big stores accept payment by bank card, Visa, MasterCard, etc.