Financial exclusion remains high in Morocco despite digital progress

Friday 18 July 2025 - 10:51

Despite Morocco’s strong digital infrastructure and widespread mobile phone use, more than half of the adult population remains excluded from the official financial system, according to the World Bank’s Findex Global Database 2025, released this Wednesday.

The report reveals that only 44% of Moroccan adults have a bank account or a mobile wallet. This figure lags behind regional peers such as Jordan (66%) and Egypt (64%), and is far from the high financial inclusion levels seen in Saudi Arabia (79%) and the UAE (88%).

The gap becomes more striking when it comes to the actual use of digital financial services. Only 32% of adults in Morocco made or received a digital payment in the last 12 months—compared to 50% in Egypt and 57% in Jordan. This highlights a major disconnect between access to digital tools and their adoption in everyday economic activities.

Ironically, the country is among the most digitally connected in the region: 90% of Moroccans own a mobile phone and 65% regularly use the Internet—outperforming Egypt, Algeria, and Tunisia in both metrics. Yet, this digital connectivity is not translating into financial inclusion.

The report also underscores the limited use of official savings channels—only 6% of adults in Morocco save their money through formal financial institutions, compared to 17% in Egypt and 15% in Jordan. Meanwhile, access to credit is nearly non-existent, with just 1% of adults having taken out a formal loan in the past year, relying instead on informal networks like family and friends.

The gender gap is another persistent issue. In the MENA region, the difference between men and women with access to financial accounts is 15 percentage points, one of the largest disparities globally. Though no specific Moroccan data is cited, the report suggests women face similar structural barriers to financial access.

Despite Morocco’s commendable strides in digital infrastructure and economic digitalization, the World Bank stresses that financial inclusion remains a challenge. It recommends targeted policies for low-income households and women, greater investment in financial literacy, and affordable mobile wallet solutions distributed through community-based networks to bridge the inclusion gap.