How Moroccans Use Crypto for International Payments Despite the Ban

It’s 2025, and in Casablanca, a young entrepreneur named Samira sends $500 to her sister in Toronto every month. She doesn’t use Western Union. She doesn’t use banks. She uses Bitcoin.

Samira isn’t alone. Across Morocco, thousands of people are quietly bypassing the country’s official ban on cryptocurrency to send money abroad. The Central Bank of Morocco, Bank Al-Maghrib, outlawed all crypto transactions in November 2017. They called it a risk - no consumer protection, wild price swings, no legal recourse if something goes wrong. But for many Moroccans, the real risk isn’t crypto. It’s the bank.

Why the Ban Didn’t Stop Crypto

The ban was clear: no buying, no selling, no using Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any other digital currency. But enforcement? That’s another story. There are no crypto ATMs in Morocco. No licensed exchanges. No official apps. Yet, people still use it. How?

It’s simple: they don’t need banks to send crypto. All you need is a phone, an internet connection, and someone who can receive it. A Moroccan living in Spain sends euros to a friend in Marrakech who then converts them into Bitcoin via a peer-to-peer (P2P) platform like LocalBitcoins or Paxful. That Bitcoin is then sent to a relative in Canada, who cashes it out through a local exchange. The whole process takes less than an hour. No paperwork. No 10% fees. No five-day waiting period.

Traditional remittance services like MoneyGram or Western Union charge up to 12% to send money from Europe to Morocco. Crypto? Often under 2%. For families relying on remittances - which make up nearly 8% of Morocco’s GDP - that difference isn’t just savings. It’s survival.

The Underground Network

There’s no official data on how many Moroccans use crypto, but the numbers speak for themselves. Market projections estimate the Moroccan crypto market will hit $292.4 million by 2026. That’s not from legal exchanges. That’s from people trading in WhatsApp groups, Telegram channels, and hidden Facebook communities.

People meet in cafes - not to chat, but to swap. A man walks in with a stack of euros. A woman sits across from him with her phone open to a crypto wallet. They agree on a rate. He gives her cash. She sends Bitcoin to his address. No receipts. No ID. No trace. It’s not perfect, but it’s reliable.

Some use crypto to pay for services abroad - online courses, software subscriptions, freelance work. A graphic designer in Fes gets paid in USDT (Tether) from a client in the U.S. He holds it for a few days, then sells it to a local buyer for dirhams. He doesn’t need a business account. He doesn’t need approval. He just needs a phone.

Why Crypto Beats the Bank

Morocco has strict foreign exchange controls. If you want to send money out of the country legally, you need permits, forms, and weeks of waiting. For small amounts, it’s not worth the hassle. For larger ones, the bureaucracy is a wall.

Crypto cuts through that. No central authority. No currency limits. No government monitoring. Transactions settle on the blockchain in minutes. Once confirmed, they’re final. No chargebacks. No reversals. No frozen accounts.

Compare that to a traditional bank transfer: $1,000 sent from Morocco to France might take three days, cost $50 in fees, and get stuck because the recipient’s bank flagged it as “suspicious.” With crypto? Same amount. Same destination. Done in 15 minutes. $5 in fees. No questions asked.

And for Moroccans living abroad - there are over 5 million in Europe alone - crypto is the only way to send money home without losing half of it to fees and delays.

The Central Bank’s Dilemma

Bank Al-Maghrib isn’t ignoring the problem. They’re trying to solve it - on their own terms.

In 2025, they announced a draft law to legalize and regulate cryptocurrencies. That’s a big shift. But it’s not about letting people trade Bitcoin freely. It’s about controlling it. The central bank wants to issue its own digital currency - a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) - for international payments.

This CBDC would work like crypto: fast, digital, and global. But unlike Bitcoin, it would be fully controlled by the government. Every transaction tracked. Every user identified. No anonymity. No risk of fraud. No chance of money laundering.

They’re even working with Egypt and the World Bank to build a regional CBDC network for North Africa. The goal? Replace underground crypto with a government-approved version.

But here’s the catch: Moroccans don’t want control. They want freedom. They don’t want to be monitored. They want to send money without asking permission.

The Real Risk Isn’t Crypto - It’s the System

Bank Al-Maghrib warns about volatility, fraud, and theft. And yes, those are real risks. But so are the risks of the current system.

How many Moroccans have lost money because their bank froze their account? How many small businesses can’t get paid because international payments get blocked? How many families wait weeks for money that could have arrived in minutes?

Crypto isn’t perfect. But it’s the only system that works for them.

People who use crypto aren’t criminals. They’re parents, students, freelancers, and small business owners. They’re not trying to evade taxes or launder money. They’re trying to survive a broken financial system.

What’s Next?

The draft law to legalize crypto could pass by mid-2026. But even if it does, it won’t kill the underground market. It’ll just change it.

People will still use Bitcoin and Ethereum for cross-border payments - because those networks aren’t controlled by any government. But now, they might also use the new Moroccan CBDC for official remittances.

It’s not a choice between crypto and the bank. It’s a choice between control and freedom. And for now, most Moroccans are choosing freedom.

The future won’t be crypto vs. the state. It’ll be crypto and the state - coexisting, competing, and sometimes, working together.

How It Actually Works: A Real Example

Here’s how it works in practice:

1. A Moroccan in Paris needs to send 5,000 euros to his brother in Rabat.
2. He uses a P2P app to sell euros for USDT (Tether) to a buyer in Morocco.
3. He sends the USDT to his brother’s wallet - a simple copy-paste of a wallet address.
4. His brother opens a local exchange app, sells the USDT for dirhams, and withdraws cash at a nearby shop.
5. Total time: 20 minutes. Total fee: $3.

Compare that to a bank transfer: 5 business days, $75 in fees, and a 40% chance the transfer gets flagged and delayed.

Who Uses It and Why

- Students abroad: Pay tuition in the U.S. or Canada without bank restrictions.

- Freelancers: Get paid in crypto from global clients without waiting for wire transfers.

- Diaspora families: Send money home without paying 10% in fees.

- Small importers: Pay suppliers in China or Turkey without dealing with Moroccan forex rules.

It’s not about speculation. It’s not about gambling. It’s about access. Crypto gives people what the banking system refuses to: speed, control, and dignity.

The Future Is Already Here

Morocco’s crypto ban was meant to protect people. But it ended up protecting the system - not the users.

As the central bank moves toward a CBDC, it’s not stopping crypto. It’s acknowledging it. The underground market won’t disappear. It’ll just get smarter.

For now, Moroccans are using crypto not because they hate banks - but because banks don’t work for them.

And until the system changes to serve real people - not just regulations - crypto will keep flowing.