Before you start

Passport, and carte de séjour or récépissé (or a mission accreditation card, for accredited staff)
Proof of address in Rabat
Evidence of the source of funds — a contract, or currency import declarations and exchange receipts
A clear answer to where your income actually comes from

Step-by-step

1
Answer the income question before you choose a bank
Paid in dirhams by a Moroccan entity? An ordinary resident account, with the transferable share of net salary handled separately under exchange rules. Paid from abroad by an embassy, an agency or a foreign employer? A convertible-dirham or foreign-currency account. Many people in Rabat legitimately need both.
In personWho: YouBefore opening
2
Fund the convertible account properly and keep every receipt
Credits come from selling foreign currency or from transfers from abroad, evidenced by a currency import declaration or the bank's exchange receipt — documents generally accepted only within about a month of issue. Those receipts are the proof the money originated outside Morocco.
In personWho: You
3
Ask your employer what other people on your contract do
Embassies, UN agencies and international NGOs in Rabat have all solved this before, and their administrative staff know which banks and branches handle their payment channel smoothly. This is one of the rare cases where institutional folklore is genuinely reliable.
Via employerWho: You
4
Pick the branch as carefully as the bank
Attijariwafa, BMCE Bank of Africa, Banque Populaire and Société Générale Maroc all deal routinely with internationally-paid clients in Rabat, and several have branches oriented toward the diplomatic districts. Branch and relationship manager matter more than the brand.
In personWho: You
5
Set up cards, and keep cash for the administrative day
Card acceptance is good in Agdal, Hay Riad and the supermarkets and thin in the medina, small shops, taxis and — importantly — at the various administrative counters where you will be paying for stamps and certificates. Keep small notes.
In personWho: You
6
Do not plan on wiring dirhams out later
Residents have no general right to transfer dirhams abroad; permitted categories are defined and each needs justification — net salary after tax, declared investment income, pensions and specified current transfers. Sort your currency position when the money comes in.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport
Carte de séjour, récépissé, or mission accreditation card
Proof of address
Currency import declarations and exchange receipts
Employment or assignment contract

Things most newcomers don’t know

Rabat is full of people paid from abroad, which is exactly the case the convertible account exists for.

Embassy staff, UN and development-agency employees, foreign researchers and remote workers all receive money originating outside Morocco. Converting that into an ordinary resident dirham account spends it inside the country permanently. A convertible-dirham or foreign-currency account, funded by declared imports of currency, keeps the right to transfer out. The Office des Changes lets foreign residents open one on a passport without prior authorisation — the obstacle is knowing to ask.

Source: Office des Changes

Accreditation and residence are different statuses, and banks treat them differently.

An accredited diplomatic or international-organisation card is not a carte de séjour, and the exchange-control and tax position attached to it differs. Colleagues on accreditation and colleagues on ordinary residence cards will give each other confidently wrong advice about accounts, transfers and tax. Establish which status you hold before copying anyone's arrangement.

Source: Office des Changes; MFA practice

Exchange receipts have a shelf life, which makes filing them a financial task.

A convertible-dirham account can only be credited against a currency import declaration or a bank exchange receipt that is generally under a month old. Money that sits as cash for a season loses the paper trail that made it convertible. Anyone moving funds in instalments needs to treat each transfer as a documented event at the time.

Source: Office des Changes

International transfers out of Moroccan banks are expensive even when they are permitted.

Where a transfer is allowed, the Moroccan bank's fees and spread are substantially worse than a specialist service — but specialist services cannot bypass exchange control, so for permitted categories you are stuck with the bank. The practical response is to minimise the number of transfers, do them in larger amounts, and get a written quotation of the all-in cost before instructing.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Opening an ordinary resident dirham account when your salary arrives from abroad.
Copying the banking arrangement of a colleague who is on diplomatic accreditation.
Discarding currency import declarations and exchange receipts.
Assuming any Moroccan bank will wire dirhams abroad on request.
Making many small international transfers instead of fewer larger ones.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.