Morocco money exchange

Withdraw money in the form of local currency from your bank account at an ATM machine. There is no “exchange money”, that is a purchase of local currency at a large mark-up. Do a Google search to see if Tangier taxis accept credit cards.

When we went pre- Covid, the tour company told us to bring new, crisp, $1 and $5 bills which the people were happy to accept at the same or better then the exchange rate. Worked fine.

Larry: I did look up to see if Tangier taxies accepted credit cards and what I found online was that they didn't and there are no Ubers either. Could you explain in more detail what you meant, "Withdraw money in the form of local currency from your bank account at an ATM machine"?

jkgaliger: Thanks for the information about Moroccans accepting new bills (US or Euro?) My husband said the same thing, but he was in Tangier back in the 80's so I wasn't sure that would still be true.

Thanks to both of you for giving me some information.

arcuhc,
It means to make a cash withdrawal from your checking account at an ATM just like you do at home...same pin, etc. The difference is that the money you receive will come out of the machine in the local currency. If you are offered an option on the screen to have the withdrawal calculated in US dollars, don't choose this. The exchange rate will not be favorable. You should decide ahead of time how much cash you want in the local currency (In France, for instance, I may want 100 euros.) Enter that as you would at home, except the amount will be 100 euros, not dollars. Your account will be debited by your bank at the current rate of exchange, say, $105.00. Your receipt will just say 100 euros. If you have a rough idea of the exchange rate you will know approximately how much your checking account is being debited.

Luckily for us, ATM machines in many foreign countries have an English language option so you can read what you are doing. In the US we are not so kind to non-English speakers, although in some cases Spanish is an option on the ATM machines.
(Depending on the country, we have used crisp small US currency at times, but not often.)

To forestall any problems, we always order about $100.00 each in the local currency from our bank to have on hand when we arrive, and get mostly small bills. If we find we aren't using it much, toward the end of our trip we spend the cash instead of using our credit cards, unless we plan to return to that country/area where we can use it on a later trip. It's not as if the money isn't usable. Last time we bought a bottle of pastis at the duty free shop at CDG in a brand we can't find at home. Problem solved, and sipped away!

We enjoyed our very short day in Tangier (too denigrated on this forum) with a good local guide and I am sure you will have a wonderful time in Morocco. Enjoy your trip!

The airport will have ATMs to use to withdraw local currency from. Do make sure to let your bank know in advance that you will be traveling to Morocco.

Unlike European countries, Morocco has a closed currency. This means you will not be able to get any Moroccan dirham outside of the country through any banks. Once you leave the country, any dirham you have left over become souvenirs as they cannot be exchanged outside Morocco. Although I will say that dirham bills are very attractive in vibrant colors.

Enjoy Morocco!

Thank you, Judy, for explaining about the atm. I have done that in Europe, but not outside of Europe. I just didn't know if the atms in the Tangier airport had a favorable exchange rate.

Thank you, thenosbigs for the heads up about money in Morocco. I did read about their closed currency, which said it was illegal to take their money out of the country. Because of this, I didn't want to take out too much money out and be stuck with it. I am still investigating how much money I need for these 3 days. From what I have read, it doesn't look like many places take a credit card, so I would like to get enough money to use and not have anything left-if you know what I mean.

BTW, for any of you out there who have been to Morocco, did you find the people to be friendly?

narcuhc,
Something I just remembered. Back in about 2012 or 2013, we crossed on the ferry from Tarifa, Spain to Tangier for the day. When we debarked there were several guides around with their official authentification as guides. We hired one for a tour of the city...partly in a car, partly a walking tour. We determined the price, and he was fine with accepting euros for payment. Maybe using euros is still acceptable there. Perhaps worth a search regarding this?

Your last question.... Yes, the people we encountered were friendly and pleasant. We mostly interacted with the guide, and with the restaurant owner and waitstaff, so our experience is meager. You might do a forum search for Morocco and choose one year or more recent to get better information than I can provide.
And in my experience, airport ATMs are not the best choice to get cash. However, finding bank ATMs for withdrawals in Tangier is something I am not familiar with. And currency exchange centers are not so common anymore. (But maybe in Morocco?)
I wish you luck, and hope the taxis will take euros.

Taxi Services at Tangier Airport
From Tangier Airport to the city center, taxis are the most practical, accessible, and rapid mode of transportation. The trip from Tangier Airport to the city center takes 20-25 minutes by taxi.

The fare for a taxi from Tangier Airport to downtown is around USD 10. Travel time and cost are both affected by traffic and the final destination. See more information about taxis at Tangier Airport.
https://tangierairport.net/#/searchcars

The exchange rate is about 10-1, so if you took 300 MAD ( ~$30US) even if its a bad exchange rate, it wouldn't be a lot of money and would get you to, presumably your hotel, and could find a bank ATM the next day to satisfy your needs

Judy, how did you know they were "official authentification" guides when you got there and how did you know what was a good price? I will try to find out if they still accept Euros, now. It is good to know that you thought the people were friendly there. Sometimes, you read that many tourist places aren't happy with tourists visiting!

Hi Joe32F,

Thank you for the information about the taxi service. I did go to the website, but I didn't really understand how to reserve a taxi. Are there "official" taxis waiting at the airport? Will there be taxis around midnight?-that's about when we will arrive.
You have a good point about getting money from an ATM at the airport for the taxi, even if the exchange rate isn't that favorable. I will definitely look for an ATM at the airport and at least get a minimal amount for the taxi.
One more thing, I read online to make sure the taxi is charging for you, anyone with you, and baggage. It said that sometimes they quote you a rate, then when you get to your destination, they want to charge you more by saying the initial rate was for the person, not others and not lugguge. Is that true?

You have a good point about getting money from an ATM at the airport for the taxi, even if the exchange rate isn't that favorable.

Basic ATMs do not have different exchange rates, they simply dispense cash, ask for 1000 Dirhams, get 1000 Dirhams plus whatever flat use fee the ATM might have. The exchange rate is handled by the network your card uses for transactions, and is always about 1% give or take. Like the response above, if anything is mentioned about USD or an exchange rate, it is offering DCC, decline, choose to do the transaction in Dirhams, reject the conversion, or choose to proceed without conversion. (they have various ways of saying it)

As was mentioned, the trick will be determining how much cash you want, though there should be ATMs most places you go.

The people of Morocco are very welcoming, proud and friendly from my experience. I visited there this past February as a single, solo female traveler as an independent tourist. (I did hire a tour guide for four hours my first day in Fes to help get my bearings and navigate the 6000 alleyways in the old Medina where I stayed.)

I had so many memorable interactions with the people. From the group of school kids on a field trip that wanted to practice their English with me in Marrakech. Bonding over a shared canister of Pringles with young adults headed home from Rabat to Fes for the weekend in my train carriage. The man with the face of a thousand wrinkles with his espresso machine mounted on a pushcart. He was so proud of it that when he saw me taking photos, he stopped in the middle of the street with motorbikes, donkeys and horse carriages whipping inches by him and posed. Indelible memories for a lifetime.

I didn’t visit Tangier. Perhaps it is different than further south. I would say the two things to be aware of is always negotiate the taxi fare before getting in the car. It will be dirt cheap if you aren’t caught out after arriving somewhere. I don’t think I paid more than $5 anywhere in Marrakech. I paid $15 for a private transfer in Fes to the airport which included meeting me at my riad, carrying my backpack 1/2 mile through the Medina to the car and the 40 minute drive to the airport (a looong way out of town).

The other thing is, if someone offers to take you somewhere when you ask directions, they will ask you for money (a tip?) when you arrive. Just shoo them off and say you’re fine. Ask a shopkeeper for directions. They're tied to their shop and can’t hustle you by “taking you there”.

Respect the culture, dress conservatively, remember Friday is the holy day, PDA’s should be private and above all use the word “shokran” (thank you) liberally. You will be well rewarded.

narcuhc,
Re the guides, there were several men, all with some sort of "license" on lanyards, meeting the ferry. I can't say for sure how authentic they were, but it appeared to be legit. My husband did the negotiating with our guide, and we were very happy with him. We felt the price was fair and we definitely got our money's worth. We didn't feel that we were pushed into a bunch of shops to buy stuff, and we had a good narrative of the history and culture of Tangier and Morocco. My feeling at the time was that the govt. tourism dept. was behind the guides with the lanyards. He did take us to one factory/shop where a couple of us bought a Moroccan outfit, but more as a souvenir. He took us to a restaurant where we had lunch, but it was really, really good, well-priced, with friendly and good service, and one of the best meals we had on that trip (Spain and Portugal)! He went to prayers while we were at lunch.
(We began the tour with a van ride along the corniche for an overall view of Tangier, followed by the walking tour is the casbah.)
Overall, we felt that we got our money's worth (and we watch our spending when traveling)!
I don't know if things are the same now.

Paul-Thanks for the ATM information. I didn't realize how these ATM networks worked. As far as asking for DCC, I've heard this before; I just hope I understand what they are asking for when I see it on the ATM screen.

Nick-Thanks for the information. I will be staying at an air BnB near the port in Tangier. I will have euros, but I had read that euros are accepted in some places, but some places didn't accept them. I will be arriving in the Tangier airport at almost midnight and being that late, I wanted to have some idea as to what I was dealing with. I am always afraid when I have to depend on independent taxis-will they be where I need them? Will they show up when I need them? Will they take euros? etc. You get the picture.

thenosbigs- I enjoyed reading about all of the wonderful interactions you had with the Moroccans you met, while you were on your trip. It's very encouraging and I hope I will have the same wonderful opportunities when I get to Tangier. I had to chuckle when I read your comment about asking a shopkeeper for directions because they couldn't leave the store. Good advice. Finally, I will definitely remember to use "shokran", as that is actually my last name! Again, thank you for all of your wisdom.

Judy-thanks for the information about the guides. I guess I'm just a bit less trusting than most people. I hope the information you have provided will help once I get to Tangier. BTW, I'm so glad you have such a good memory of your time in Morocco.