Nearly a decade after its inception as HPS Switch in 2016, the Moroccan switching operator has rebranded to Switch Al Maghrib (SWAM), signaling a strategic shift towards consolidating a national platform for electronic payment interoperability. This was announced last month at a press conference in Casablanca.
Since its launch, HPS Switch enabled widespread acceptance of Moroccan cards across all ATMs and payment terminals nationwide. However, it operated as a private service under interbank agreements without a formal regulatory status. Now, following reforms under the Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI) framework supervised by Bank Al-Maghrib, SWAM is officially recognized as a “system of economic importance” aligned with the Bank for International Settlements’ principles.
Hanae Ben Driss, SWAM’s Managing Director, stated, “The MFI status underscores SWAM’s central role in Morocco’s payments ecosystem, balancing innovation with rigorous regulatory oversight to strengthen electronic payments and digital trust.”
As an MFI, SWAM complies with comprehensive legislation including data protection laws (Law 09-08), national cybersecurity directives, and information system security laws (Law 05-20). This regulatory framework aims to ensure network resilience, security, and SWAM’s commitment to its “public interest” mission.
To support growing digital payment volumes, SWAM has upgraded its technical infrastructure to an Active-Active architecture, distributing operations across two data centers for high availability and instant failover. Ben Driss highlighted, “This infrastructure milestone enables SWAM to provide Morocco’s financial ecosystem with a robust, reliable, and secure foundation.”
In 2024, SWAM processed 401 million card payments, over 14 million ATM withdrawals, and 5.3 million mobile wallet payments. With nearly 20 million cards and 10 million active wallets in use, SWAM plans to launch instant payment services soon, following global examples like Brazil, India, and Turkey.
SWAM is committed to inclusivity, opening its platform to fintechs, payment institutions, telecom operators, and international processors. Currently, 48 participants—including major banks and fintech leaders—are integrated into the system.
The Moroccan government’s move to place the switching infrastructure under national regulation aims to safeguard financial sovereignty, protect user data, and ensure resilience against cyber threats.
Ben Driss emphasized the focus on merchant-centric solutions, “We are developing products to deliver immediate value to merchants through instant payments, ensuring secure transaction acceptance and proactively managing risks for service reliability.”
SWAM’s interoperability strategy seeks to streamline infrastructure, reduce costs, and offer merchants competitive payment acquisition rates. “An expanding fintech ecosystem is further enhancing merchant confidence and value,” Ben Driss concluded.
