Page 356 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Morocco

354  SUR VIV AL GUIDE

Banking and Currency DIRECTORY

Moroccan currency cannot be obtained abroad. On your Moroccan Banks
arrival in the country, you will find many exchange offices Attijariwafa Bank
where you can easily obtain dirhams. With an international 2 Bd Moulay­Youssef, Casablanca.
banker’s card you will also be able to draw money from Tel (0522) 29 88 88.
automatic cash dispensers, as well as over the counter BMCE
in banks that do not have ATMs. In country areas it can 140 Avenue Hassan II,
sometimes be difficult to change foreign currency, and Casablanca.
shopkeepers and traders are seldom able to give change Tel (0522) 20 04 92.
for high-denomination banknotes. It is also useful to BMCI
keep a collection of coins for small purchases. 26 Place des Nations Unies,
Casablanca.
Tel (0529) 04 40 44.
Automatic Cash Crédit du Maroc
Dispensers 48/58 Boulevard Mohammed V,
In large towns, automatic Casablanca.
cash dispensers (ATMs) are Tel (0522) 47 73 19.
becoming increasingly easy
to find. Most have instructions Foreign Banks
in several languages, and Citibank
a notice or sticker lists Lotissement Attaoufik,
those cards – Visa, Eurocard Zenith Millenium, Immeuble 1,
and MasterCard – that Sidi Maarouf, Casablanca.
are accepted. Tel (0522) 48 96 00.
Some dispensers give cash
only against accounts that are Société Générale
held in Morocco and may 55 Boulevard Abdelmoumen,
swallow your inter national card Casablanca.
if you insert it by mistake. Cash Tel (0522) 43 88 88.
dispensers give out dirhams,
and there is often an upper
limit to individual withdrawals. grading of three stars and
A branch of the French bank The machines do not always upwards, and at airports.
Société Générale work properly, and it is The exchange rate is uniform
advisable to withdraw money and variations in the com­
Banks during bank opening hours mission charged are unusual.
Morocco’s main banks so that you can retrieve your To avoid queueing, it is often
are Banque Marocaine card imme diately in the event best to change money at a
du Commerce Extérieur of any problems arising. hotel. While exchange offices
(BMCE), Banque Marocaine Banks in Morocco charge in hotels and airports are
du Commerce et de l’Industrie commission for foreign cash open almost permanently,
(BMCI), Attijariwafa Bank withdrawals, usually bet ween those attached to a bank
and Crédit du Maroc. Most 4.50 and 7 dirhams, regardless have the same opening
of them either have of how much is withdrawn. hours as the bank’s.
agreements with certain Obtain information on charges When changing money,
large international banks, from your bank and avoid you will usually be asked to
such as Citibank and the making frequent withdrawals show your passport. All foreign
French bank Société Générale, of small amounts. currencies are accepted, but
or are their subsidiaries. If the cash dispenser fails the euro and the dollar are
There are branches throughout to work, most banks will the preferred currencies. Worn
the country. Small issue cash over the and torn banknotes are not
towns usually counter to accepted as a matter of policy.
have only one holders of a In the major tourist centres,
bank, and there banker’s card. money­changers may offer you
are no banks at their services in the street at a
all in rural areas. preferential rate, but it is best
Banks are open Bureaux De to decline the offer.
continuously from Change You can change back any
8am to about 4pm, Bureaux de change can dirhams that you have left at
Monday to Friday Automatic cash be found in almost all the end of your stay, although
including Ramadan. dispenser banks, in hotels with a the exchange rate will be

354-355_EW_Morocco.indd 354 09/08/16 11:20 am
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Practical template “UK” LAYER
(Source v1.7)
Date 5th March 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm