The explosion of the money supply in Tunisia, now a central subject of the economic debate, arouses shared opinions among the experts.
On April 7, 2025, the economist Moez Hadidane spoke on FM mosaic to offer his analysis on the evolution of liquidity in circulation, at a time when the central bank revealed that the money supply had reached a historic threshold of 24 billion dinars. According to Hadidane, this increase is “normal” and is not linked to the new law on checks. He believes that other payment instruments, such as transfers or bank cards, could compensate for the reduction in the use of checks.
However, the economist did not fail to highlight the risks associated with this increase, in particular inflation and the leak of capital, already concern in a tense economic context. He also pointed out that the growth of the money supply, which has reached 10.5 % in five years, exceeds that of gross domestic product (GDP), limited to 9 %. A situation which, according to him, could compromise the economic stability of the country.
Sofiane Ourimi’s concerns on the law of checks and electronic payments
For his part, Sofiane Ourimi, banking expert, expresses a much more alarmist opinion. During his intervention on Express FM on April 4, Ourimi directly attributed this explosion of the money supply to the restrictive law on checks and the slow adoption of electronic payments. He deplored the fact that almost 75 % of the transactions made by bank card are limited to liquid withdrawals. This situation, he stressed, contributes to tax evasion and increases economic challenges, especially for savings and financing of banking projects.
This divergence of perspectives reflects a complex economic reality for Tunisia: modernizing the payment system now seems to be crucial to strengthen the efficiency of the banking sector, while avoiding strengthening the informal sector and further destabilizing the fragile economy. If Hadidane seems to relativize the dangers of the current situation, Ourimi considers it a direct threat to financial stability and the modernization of economic practices.
