Morocco: Opened consultation on proposed structural and behavioural commitments in investigation into CMI for alleged anti-competitive practices

On 27 September 2024, Morocco's Competition Authority opened a public consultation on structural and behavioural commitments proposed by the Interbank Electronic Payment Center (CMI), remaining open until 30 October 2024. The Competition Council identified several competition concerns, notably CMI’s quasi-monopoly, high interchange fees, and the low penetration of electronic payments. In response, CMI and its nine shareholder banks proposed structural and behavioural commitments to enhance market competition, which were deemed credible by the Council. The commitments include the transfer of merchant contracts, the transformation of the CMI into a neutral technical platform, compliance with the interchange fee cap set by the Bank Al-Maghrib, and the implementation of a competition compliance program. Third parties are invited to submit feedback on the commitments.