Legal framework of payment systems and means


I - Legal and Regulatory Framework

The legal framework for systems and means of payment finds its roots in both general and special texts. It is based on certain fundamental legal concepts, including the general theory of liabilities and civil liability as well as certain contracts, such as deposit and mandate.

Other aspects of cashless payments, the main support of which is the bank account, are governed by law No 15/95 forming the commercial code, promulgated by Dahir (Royal Decree) No 1-96-83 of  August 1, 1996, which defines the legal regime of the sight account, the deposit of funds, bills of exchange, bank transfers and bank cards.

In addition, the provisions of Law No. 103-12 on credit institutions and similar institutions, promulgated by Dahir No. 1-14-193, grant credit institutions the right to collect deposits, to put at the disposal of their customers means of payment and their management. This new law introduced a new category of non-bank institutions, known as "payment institutions" entitled to hold payment accounts and offer associated payment services.

This legal framework is supplemented by a set of Bank Al-Maghrib Circulars  which regulate certain aspects of systems and means of payment, particularly:

II - Conventional Framework

The legal and regulatory framework has been supplemented and strengthened by a conventional framework that includes, in addition to the multilateral agreement on Payment System Supervision signed in January 2009, the statutes and regulations for the Grouping of the Moroccan Interbank Remote Clearing System (GSIMT), the Interbank agreement for the physical non-exchange of checks, the interbank agreement for the exchange of interbank direct debits via the the Moroccan Interbank Remote Clearing System, and the central settlement accounts Agreement agreements concluded between Bank Al-Maghrib and participants in Morocco's Gross Settlement System.

III - Guidelines, standards, other texts

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