Banks and payment institutions: more than 31,500 access points

A bank teller. Credit: Mustapha Razi / Le Desk

The network of banks and payment institutions reached 31,515 access points at the end of 2022 compared to 26,771 a year earlier, an increase of 17.7%, according to the fourth edition of the annual report of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (SNIF).

This increase, which is mainly concentrated in urban areas and amounts to almost 92%, mainly concerns the regions of Casablanca-Settat, Rabat-Salé-Kenitra and Fès-Meknes, as shown in this report by Bank-Al Maghrib, the Ministry of Finance. and External Finance (DTFE), the Insurance and Social Security Supervisory Authority (ACAPS), the Moroccan Capital Market Authority (AMMC), the National Federation of Microcredit Associations (FNAM), the Moroccan Foundation for Financial Education (FMEF) and the Professional Association of Payment Institutions (APEP ).

Payment institution (EP) access points represent almost 78% of the network and cover 43% of municipalities, the report specifies, highlighting that only 33% of rural municipalities have EP access points, or 46% of the rural population.

According to the same source, almost 54% of these municipalities are served exclusively by EPs, or 22% of the rural population, highlighting that 37% of these municipalities have fewer than 10,000 inhabitants.

As for the banking network, it recorded a decline of 0.2% in seven regions of the Kingdom, with a decline of almost 4% in rural areas, the report said, noting that 14 rural municipalities, with a total population of 93,572 , are only served by bank branches.

The number of rural municipalities not covered by the banking network and payment institutions increased from 965 at the end of 2018 to 842 (66% of rural municipalities) at the end of 2022, an improvement of 12.75%. The excluded areas are home to 7,757,292 inhabitants, or 53% of the rural population and 23% of the total population.

As for the network of microcredit associations, it recorded a decrease of 0.5% compared to 2021 to reach 1,678 points of sale in 2022.

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