Naps vs CMI: What the compensation actually cost

For (the Moroccan operations processing center) interbank payment systems) Naps, the complete dismantling of the Interbank Electronic Banking Center (CMI) business, was not a reward in itself.

This is why the payment institution demanded compensation for nearly a decade of «anti-competitive practices « . What is the amount? And who should foot the bill?
Naps ‘ management had tacitly confirmed its intention to seek compensation for the damages suffered since the company’s inception, but without providing further details on the amount or terms. It was only with the publication of Naps’ 2024 financial statements that the compensation amount was made public. While some expected exorbitant figures, the amount actually paid in 2024 by the CMI was 15 million dirhams (USD 1.62 million), along with the free transfer of a thousand commercial contracts as additional compensation. The overall annual profitability of this portfolio must exceed 5 million dirhams (USD 540,000) in commissions for the deal to be valid. The financial compensation received by Naps remains higher than the company’s net profit for the 2024 fiscal year, which amounts to just over 10 million dirhams (USD 1.08 million), as confirmed by the audit certificate signed by the auditor, Mohamed Hdid. According to our information, the deal was concluded after direct negotiations between the two parties, without the involvement of any other party such as the Competition Council or Bank Al-Maghrib. The payment of this consolation prize to Naps is clearly intended to avoid a potentially lengthy lawsuit that could have resulted in a significantly higher amount, hence the discreet and amicable settlement.
By filing a complaint with the Competition Authority against CMI, Naps triggered a veritable earthquake in the electronic payment, POS, and e-commerce sector. This amounted to nothing less than the dismantling of the near-monopoly held by CMI since its creation in 2004. After examining the intricacies of the complaint, the Competition Authority ordered the unraveling of the incumbent operator’s business, compelling it to divest its entire portfolio of commercial contracts to payment institutions, whether subsidiaries of shareholder banks or not, by October 31, 2025. This proved impossible to achieve due to the complexity of the task, so CMI requested a six-month extension until April 30, 2026, to divest a portfolio of approximately 55,000 contracts to the payment institutions. An additional extension was ultimately granted by the national competition authority.
According to several sources close to the matter, the parties involved are still working on the valuation of the contracts between CMI and the shareholder banks. Everything must be finalized by January 31, 2026.
Hassan EL ARIF