City car · 2022
Fiat Panda
- 5 seats
- Manual
- 2 bags
- A/C
290 MAD/day
from 7 days · about €27 · 1 day : 350 MAD
Deposit
10,000 MAD
Price includes tax, insurance and unlimited mileage.
Renting a car in Marrakech without a credit card
You travel with a debit card, a Revolut or Monzo card, or cash, and the big rental desk at the airport wants a credit card in the driver’s name. Here is why that rule exists, what you can use instead with us, and how to get your deposit together without losing money on bank fees or getting stuck with dirhams at the airport.
Credit card
Not required
Cash deposit
10,000 MAD to 35,000 MAD, in dirhams or euros
No deposit at all
46 of 70 cars
Debit card
Accepted to pay for the rental
Why airport rental desks insist on a credit card
At the big international brands operating in Morocco, the rule is written into the rental terms: the deposit can only be taken on a credit card in the main driver’s name, valid until the return date, and cash is not accepted. Some even place two holds: one for the rental and a tank of fuel, another for the excess.
The reason is how that deposit is taken. It is not a payment but a pre-authorisation, or card hold: the bank sets the amount aside without charging it. On a credit card, the hold uses up part of your credit limit, not your own money, and the rental company can still charge damage or a fine that turns up after you have gone home. On a debit card, the same amount comes out of your available balance: it is not spent, but you cannot use it, and your bank may keep it frozen for up to 30 days depending on the card. Prepaid cards are usually refused outright.
Credit or debit: check your card
In the UK, your current-account card is a debit card, and a credit card is a separate account with its own limit. Standard Revolut, Monzo and Starling cards are debit cards too. Most cards issued in the UK and Europe say DEBIT or CREDIT on them; if yours does not, your banking app will tell you. In the US, the card linked to your checking account is a debit card, even with a Visa or Mastercard logo. If you only have a debit card, sort out a plan before you fly rather than at the desk.
What you can use instead with us
1. A cash deposit
In dirhams or euros, left when you collect the keys and handed back as it is at return. Never cashed. From 10,000 MAD (about €930) for a small city car to 35,000 MAD for the top of the range.
2. The no-deposit option
Nothing to leave, no cash and no card hold, on 46 of our 70 cars. A daily contribution replaces the deposit; the amount is given to you in writing before you book.
Your debit card, to pay
You pay for the rental when you collect the keys, in cash or by card. For a hold on a debit or prepaid card, tell us which card you have: we will confirm in writing whether it is possible.
Which cars are excluded from the no-deposit option, and when it is worth the daily contribution, is covered on our car rental without deposit page. The table below shows how much cash to bring, and how many trips to the cash machine that means.
| Car type | Cash to bring | About, in euros | Withdrawals of 2,000 MAD | No deposit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City car | 10,000 to 12,000 MAD | €930 to €1,110 | up to 6 | All |
| Compact | 12,000 to 14,000 MAD | €1,110 to €1,300 | up to 7 | 8 of 9 |
| Saloon | 14,000 to 25,000 MAD | €1,300 to €2,310 | up to 13 | 1 of 5 |
| SUV | 14,000 to 20,000 MAD | €1,300 to €1,850 | up to 10 | 10 of 12 |
| 4x4 | 20,000 to 27,000 MAD | €1,850 to €2,500 | up to 14 | No |
| Luxury | 30,000 to 35,000 MAD | €2,780 to €3,240 | up to 18 | No |
| Convertible | 12,000 to 30,000 MAD | €1,110 to €2,780 | up to 15 | 1 of 3 |
| Van | 14,000 to 20,000 MAD | €1,300 to €1,850 | up to 10 | All |
| People carrier & minibus | 14,000 to 25,000 MAD | €1,300 to €2,310 | up to 13 | 5 of 7 |
| Hybrid | 14,000 MAD | €1,300 | up to 7 | All |
The exact amount for each car is shown on its card. Withdrawals counted on a common cap of 2,000 MAD per transaction; some machines allow more.
Compact · 2025
Changan Alsvin
- 5 seats
- Automatic
- 4 bags
- A/C
280 MAD/day
from 7 days · about €26 · 1 day : 340 MAD
Deposit
12,000 MAD
Price includes tax, insurance and unlimited mileage.
SUV · 2025
Nissan Magnite
- 5 seats
- Automatic
- 3 bags
- A/C
380 MAD/day
from 7 days · about €35 · 1 day : 460 MAD
Deposit
14,000 MAD
Price includes tax, insurance and unlimited mileage.
People carrier & minibus · 2023
Citroën Berlingo
- 7 seats
- Manual
- 6 bags
- A/C
400 MAD/day
from 7 days · about €37 · 1 day : 490 MAD
Deposit
14,000 MAD
Price includes tax, insurance and unlimited mileage.
The lowest cash deposit in each common car type; all four cars can also be rented with the no-deposit option.
Cash deposit: how you get it back
You leave the deposit when you collect the keys, at the airport, your hotel or your riad. It is counted in front of you, and the amount and currency are written on the contract. At return, we repeat the photo check with you; if there is no new damage, the same money is handed back on the spot, in the currency you left. No bank transfer, no waiting for a hold to clear: that is the advantage of cash over a card. If there is damage, only the actual cost of the repair is kept, on presentation of the garage’s quote.
The thing to plan for is the currency. Dirhams cannot leave Morocco: the Office des Changes only lets travellers take 2,000 MAD in banknotes out of the country. If you leave 14,000 MAD and get it back an hour before your flight, you will have to change most of it back before check-in, and exchange desks normally ask for the exchange receipt or the cash machine slip showing where the dirhams came from. Two ways round it: leave the deposit in euros, which you get back in euros, or keep every exchange receipt and withdrawal slip until you fly home.
Getting the cash together without paying for it
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Check your daily cash limit before you fly
Your card has a daily withdrawal limit set for everyday life. Many banks let you raise it for a while in their app; do it at home, not in front of the cash machine.
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Know your fee-free allowance
App banks such as Revolut and Monzo give a monthly fee-free cash allowance abroad, then charge a percentage; Revolut also adds a mark-up to currency exchanges at weekends on its Standard plan. Many high-street debit cards charge a foreign transaction fee on every withdrawal. Many Moroccan cash machines cap each withdrawal at 2,000 MAD, sometimes 4,000 MAD: getting 14,000 MAD together can take 7 withdrawals, which can use up an allowance fast. Check your plan in the app before you travel.
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Always pay in dirhams, never “in your home currency”
A cash machine or card terminal may offer to charge you in pounds, euros or dollars. Decline and choose dirhams (MAD): that on-the-spot conversion almost always costs more than your own bank’s rate. A test by the German consumer body Stiftung Warentest, quoted by the European consumer organisation BEUC, found mark-ups of 2.6% to 12%.
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Travelling as a group or staying two weeks or more?
The deposit does not depend on how long you rent, but it stays tied up for your whole trip: up to 25,000 MAD (about €2,310) on a nine-seat minibus. The no-deposit option, on the other hand, is paid every day. Ask us for both totals in writing, with the weekly and monthly rates from our price list, and compare.
Landing at Menara airport: what to have on you
- The main driver’s licence and passport.
- The deposit already counted, in euros or dirhams, or the written no-deposit confirmation in your WhatsApp chat.
- Your debit card, if you are paying for the rental by card, with its limit raised.
- A few small dirham notes: motorway tolls are paid in cash on the way out, and not every lane takes cards.
- Your exchange receipts and withdrawal slips, kept until your flight home.
Landing late? Do not count on a last-minute trip to the cash machine to put the deposit together: sort it out before you fly, or choose the no-deposit option. The meet-and-greet in the arrivals hall and the key handover are described on our Marrakech airport car rental page, and tolls and local driving habits on our driving in Morocco page.
Questions about renting without a credit card
Can I rent a car in Marrakech with a debit card?
Yes. With us, a credit card is not required: the deposit can be left in cash, or replaced by the no-deposit option on 46 cars. Your debit card can be used to pay for the rental when you collect the keys.
Will my Revolut or Monzo card work for the deposit?
Both are debit cards: a hold on them would freeze money in your account rather than use up a credit limit, which is why many rental companies turn them down. Mention your card in your message and we will confirm in writing whether a card hold is possible. Cash or the no-deposit option is usually simpler.
Which currency should I leave the cash deposit in?
Dirhams or euros. It is handed back exactly as you left it, in the same currency. If you fly home straight after returning the car, euros save you changing dirhams back: travellers may only take 2,000 MAD in banknotes out of Morocco.
When do I get a cash deposit back?
On the day you return the car, on the spot, straight after the photo check with you, including at the airport before your flight. There is no bank delay, unlike a card hold. The full routine is on our deposit and insurance page.
How long does a hold stay on a debit card?
We release it the day you return the car, but your bank decides when the money is available again: usually a few days, and up to 30 days depending on the card. Until then the money is out of reach in your account, which is the main reason to prefer cash if you only have a debit card.
Do I have to pay anything before I arrive?
No. There is no prepayment and no bank transfer: you pay when you collect the keys, and the deposit is left at the same time. The price is the one on our public rate card, with insurance and unlimited mileage included.
No credit card? Tell us what you have
Tell us your card, your dates and where to meet you: we confirm in writing the deposit to bring, in cash or none at all, and the all-inclusive total.
7 days a week, 8:00 - 22:00 · reply within the hour during opening hours