The Central Bank of Iraq suspends the “Western Union” service for international financial transfer, 12 OCT

 The Central Bank of Iraq suspends the “Western Union” service for international financial transfer, 12 OCT

The Central Bank of Iraq has suspended the Western Union service for international financial transfers until further notice.

The company has recently announced that it has suspended the Western Union service, effective from 10-12-2023. This decision was made in compliance with the directives issued by the Central Bank of Iraq. The suspension is temporary and has been put in place to enable the implementation of modern mechanisms and technologies to ensure that financial transactions comply with international best practices and the guidelines of the Central Bank of Iraq.

The company’s customers will be notified immediately upon relaunch of the service.

Last July, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 14 Iraqi banks as part of a crackdown on Iran’s use of the US dollar for transactions.

Last September, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq, made an announcement that the bank will no longer be conducting “foreign transfers” from next year. Additionally, the bank has also decided to restrict internal commercial transactions to dinars instead of the US dollar, except for those transactions that are meant for travelers.

It’s worth noting that the Central Bank has recently implemented a new foreign currency auction mechanism that complies with the requirements and conditions set by the Federal Bank. The new mechanism aims to monitor the dollar and prevent any attempts to smuggle it out of the country. This has created high expectations among people, and everyone is eagerly waiting for its impact