Finance

Cash: currency in circulation soars to 513 billion DH

22 October 2026·2 min read

According to Bank Al-Maghrib, currency in circulation reached 513 billion dirhams at end-December, or 30% of GDP. The 200-dirham note dominates (76% of value). Net withdrawals doubled to 69 billion. Foreign currency deposits hit a record at 88.8 billion.

Cash in circulation reaches a new milestone at 513 billion dirhams

The outstanding amount of banknotes and coins in circulation jumped 15.5 % year‑on‑year to stand at 513 billion dirhams at end‑December. This stock now accounts for 30 % of GDP, compared with 28 % twelve months earlier and a little over 20 % before the health crisis. In volume terms, there are 3.4 billion banknotes and the same number of coins in circulation, representing respective increases of 15 % and 3 %.

The 200‑dirham note dominates. It accounts for 76 % of the total value in circulation, up one percentage point, and makes up 57 % of notes by volume. The 100‑dirham note, meanwhile, falls back to 22 % of the value.

Bank Al‑Maghrib’s counters saw net withdrawals soar to 69 billion dirhams, more than double the previous year. Summer marked a sharp acceleration, with 17 billion withdrawn in July and August alone, whereas the usual average is around 7 billion. The fourth quarter sustained the momentum with 25 billion net withdrawals, compared with an average of 6 billion in previous years.

The AFCON period, from 15 December to 23 January, accounted for 30.2 billion dirhams of gross withdrawals, generating 8.3 billion net withdrawals, nearly double the average seen in comparable periods in 2022 and 2023. At the same time, deposits of foreign‑currency notes, mainly euros, hit a historic record of 88.8 billion dirhams, well above the 74.1 billion of 2024 and the previous peak of 85.7 billion reached in 2022.

Despite the rise of electronic payments, cash remains king in card usage. Withdrawals still account for 66 % of the number of transactions and 87 % of their value, totalling 450 million operations for 460 billion dirhams, up 12 % in volume and 14 % in value.

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