Global fintech giant Revolut has appointed Yacine Faqir, a former Mastercard executive, as Chief Executive Officer for its Moroccan operations, underscoring its intent to drive digital-banking growth in North Africa through experienced, locally rooted leadership.
Faqir’s appointment comes just months after Revolut named Amine Berrada, a former Uber director, as Head of Operations for Morocco. The two appointments indicate a phased market-entry strategy: establishing operational leadership first, followed by a regulatory-facing CEO to steer licensing and long-term localisation.
According to Morocco’s central bank (Bank Al-Maghrib), Revolut’s board visited Rabat in October to present its expansion roadmap. The company plans to begin as a payment operator and obtain a full banking licence within two years, part of its push to localise in strategically significant emerging markets.
For Revolut, naming a Moroccan-born chief executive is a deliberate move to anchor its ambitions in credible on-the-ground leadership. Faqir will lead market entry, licensing discussions, and the adaptation of Revolut’s global product suite to Moroccan regulatory and consumer realities. His mandate includes building a local team and ensuring that risk, compliance, and customer-protection standards meet the expectations of both Bank Al-Maghrib and Revolut Group.
A career across payments, credit, and risk
Before joining Revolut, Faqir served as Vice President of Products and Solutions for North and Francophone Africa at Mastercard, leading product strategy across consumer cards, SME offerings, tokenisation, and new payment flows.
Earlier, he helped establish Dun & Bradstreet’s credit bureau operations in Morocco, overseeing infrastructure rollout and data-governance frameworks. He has also advised the World Bank and multiple fintechs on credit infrastructure and regulatory mapping across African markets.
Part of Revolut’s wider Africa play
Faqir’s appointment mirrors Revolut’s gradual African expansion, following its South Africa launch earlier this year, where Jacques Meyer heads operations. As Finance in Africa previously reported, Revolut’s South African playbook has focused on navigating regulatory fragmentation, building partnerships with local banks, and localisation of its global “super-app” for multi-currency and remittance use cases.
Securing footholds in Morocco and South Africa, will help Revolut build a north–south axis for African growth: Morocco as a gateway to North Africa and MENA, and South Africa as a launchpad for sub-Saharan expansion.
