Rabat hosts third visa fintech day as Morocco accelerates digital finance innovation

The third edition of the Visa Fintech Day took place on Tuesday at the Mohammed VI Tower in Rabat, bringing together key players from Morocco’s financial ecosystem to discuss innovation, digital payments, and financial inclusion.

Organised by Visa in partnership with the Morocco Fintech Center (MFC), the Digital Development Agency (ADD), and Technopark, the event gathered representatives from public authorities, regulators, banks, fintechs, investors, and technology companies. This edition placed a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence and its potential to transform financial services.

The proceedings were opened by Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni, Minister Delegate for Digital Transition and Administrative Reform, who addressed the role of AI in accelerating an inclusive digital transformation. Several discussions also examined the impact of digitalisation on the national economy, notably during a conversation between Sami Romdhane, Country Manager of Visa in Morocco, and Ryad Mezzour, Minister of Industry and Trade.

Speakers highlighted the growing contribution of digital technologies to modernising Morocco’s economic fabric, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises. Digital payments, data utilisation, and AI-based tools are now seen as major drivers of competitiveness and development.

Morocco bets on AI to speed up financial transformation

One of the highlights of this edition was the presentation of a white paper dedicated to the Moroccan fintech ecosystem. Produced jointly by Visa and the Morocco Fintech Center with input from several institutions, this document aims to serve as a reference for investors, industry professionals, and public decision-makers.

The report puts forward several recommendations to accelerate financial innovation in Morocco. These include developing regulatory sandboxes to test new services in a secure environment, standardising technological integrations among market players, strengthening financing mechanisms for startups, and making greater use of artificial intelligence and data analysis to promote financial inclusion.

The event also showcased the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator programme. Launched as part of the group’s commitment to invest one billion dollars in Africa by 2027, this initiative supports fintech startups across the continent through an intensive twelve-week programme.

Startups, banks, and regulators: a maturing collaboration

Since its launch, the accelerator has supported 104 African fintechs across six consecutive cohorts. Their combined valuation exceeds 1.4 billion dollars. Ten Moroccan startups have already benefited from the programme, gaining access to strategic mentoring, Visa’s technological infrastructure, and funding opportunities.

During this third edition, two Moroccan startups from the latest cohort were highlighted. Both are developing solutions based on artificial intelligence and data exploitation to address structural challenges in the financial sector.

For Sami Romdhane, this evolution reflects the growing maturity of the national ecosystem. According to him, Moroccan fintechs now favour a logic of collaboration with banks and regulators rather than a disruptive approach. Visa intends to support this dynamic by making available its technological infrastructure and global expertise to foster financial innovation and expand access to financial services in Morocco.