All you need to know about the currency in Marrakech

You have almost everything planned for your holiday in Marrakech but there is an important little detail left to organise - money! Which currency do you use to buy things? Here is a small article to give you some useful information for your stay in the ochre city. 

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What does the local currency look like?

The official currency of Morocco is the Moroccan dirham (dh). Its abbreviation is MAD (Moroccan dirham).

When you are there, you will find tickets of 20, 50, 100 and 200 dirhams. As far as coins are concerned, it is almost like euros and cents, except that we are talking about dirhams (0.50 then 1, 2, 5 and 10) and santimat (5, 10 and 20, since 1 santimat coins are no longer minted nowadays). One dirham represents 100 santimat.

The exchange rate is about 1€ = 11 MAD. If you want to know this exchange rate in real-time, it's here. 

Withdraw money, pay and exchange currencies

To withdraw money, simply go to the banks and ATMs in Jemaa El-Fna Square or the new area of Marrakech. 

When paying, it is preferable to pay by credit card to limit bank fees as much as possible. The maximum commission depends on the issuing institution but is generally 1%.

Although it is very common to pay in euros (the official currency of some places such as riads) or in dollars, it is better to pay in dirhams in establishments that do not take credit cards. If you need to change your currencies, once again you should return to Jemaa El Fna Square where you will find exchange offices. While this may be the best and cheaper solution, you can still carry out currency exchanges at the airport or in hotels where the exchange rate is higher.

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That's it, you know most of what you need to know about the currency used in Marrakech. So, what do you say? "Shukran bizzaf" (thank you very much!)