New times, new money

The official currency in Morocco is the Dirham (DH), divided into 100 centimes, and the word derives from the Greek Drachmae, meaning ‘handful’.

In 2009, a new 50-dirham note appeared, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Central Bank and this was the first commemorative banknote issued in Morocco. Front shows portraits of kings Mohammed VI, Hassan II and Mohammed V, the kings also appearing on a holographic stripe. The crown on top left corner was printed with ink that changes colour, depending on the angle of view. The back depicts the Bank Al-Maghrib building in Rabat.

In December 2012 was issued the first 25-dirham note in the history, and it was also the first banknote in the world to be printed on a Durasafe substrate, which is an innovative paper-polymer-paper composite substrate. The front of the banknote shows the portrait of King Mohammed VI, while he back of the note carries a print commemorating 25 years of banknote printing at the Moroccan State Printing Works, Dar As-Sikkah.

When you arrive to Morocco, you will need to exchange your money into Dirham, and do the other way around when you leave, as you cannot exchange them outside the country. But if you choose to stay in one of our riads, there is no need to worry about the currency, because you can either pay in Dirham, or in Euros or Pounds.