Circulaire du Wali de Bank Al-Maghrib n° 5/W/15 du 20 mai 2015 relative aux documents et renseignements nécessaires à l'instruction des demandes d'agrément des établissements de paiement (Circular No. 5/W/15 of 20 May 2015 on the documents and information required to process payment institution licensing applications)

Circular No. 5/W/15 of the Wali (Governor) of Bank Al-Maghrib, dated 20 May 2015, is the implementing instrument that operationalises the payment-institution licensing regime introduced by Article 34 of Law No. 103-12 on Credit Institutions and Similar Bodies. The Circular sets out, in detail, the documents and information that an applicant must submit to Bank Al-Maghrib in support of an application for a licence (agrément) to carry on the activity of a payment institution (établissement de paiement). It applies to any legal entity seeking authorisation to provide one or more payment services in Morocco, whether a dedicated payment institution, a fintech operator or a telecom-affiliated payments venture. The required application file covers the legal form and shareholding structure of the applicant; the identity, integrity and competence (fit-and-proper assessment) of directors, senior managers and significant shareholders; the business plan and financial projections; the funding and capital arrangements demonstrating compliance with the minimum capital fixed for payment institutions; the technical, organisational and IT-security systems supporting the proposed services; risk-management, internal-control and compliance arrangements; and anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing procedures. By standardising the contents of the licensing dossier, the Circular gives effect to the central bank's gatekeeping role: applications are examined by Bank Al-Maghrib and submitted for the opinion of the Credit Institutions Committee, with the Governor issuing the final licensing decision, generally within a maximum period of around four months once the file is complete. The Circular thereby provides the procedural backbone for market entry by fintech and non-bank payment providers in Morocco, ensuring that prudential, governance, technological and financial-crime safeguards are assessed before a licence is granted. Supervision of licensed payment institutions, and enforcement of the conditions attached to a licence, are exercised on an ongoing basis by Bank Al-Maghrib, which may refuse, condition, suspend or withdraw authorisation. As an implementing circular under Law No. 103-12, it is best understood alongside the umbrella statute and the central bank's broader regulation of payment systems and means. (Original language: French.)

1. 1Specifies the complete documentary file required for a payment-institution licence application to Bank Al-Maghrib
2. 2Requires disclosure of legal form, shareholding structure and identity of directors, managers and significant shareholders for fit-and-proper assessment
3. 3Requires a business plan, financial projections and evidence of compliance with minimum capital requirements
4. 4Requires description of technical, IT-security, organisational, risk-management and internal-control systems
5. 5Requires AML/CFT procedures as a condition of licensing
6. 6Establishes the procedural basis for Bank Al-Maghrib examination, Credit Institutions Committee opinion and the Governor's licensing decision