ANALYSIS OF IRAQ NEWS: CBI WORKING WITH GOVERNMENT TO SUPPORT ELECTRONIC PAYMENT BY DINAR REVALUATION, 13 AUGUST

Al-Alaq: The Central Bank is working with the Prime Minister’s direction and the government program to support electronic payment

Al-Alaq: The Central Bank is working with the Prime Minister’s direction and the government program to support electronic payment – Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq, confirmed today, Saturday, that the Central Bank is working with the Prime Minister’s direction and the government program to support electronic payment. The Central Bank stated in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that “the Governor of the Central Bank participated in a specialized workshop to accelerate the transition to electronic payment, sponsored by the Prime Minister, and organized by the Osool Foundation for Economic Development and Sustainable Development.” 

The Governor said during his speech at the workshop – according to the statement – that “the Central Bank of Iraq works side by side with the government program and the Prime Minister’s direction to support electronic payment, and we are proud of what we have achieved so far,” noting that “in 2023, the amounts processed through the national switchboard witnessed a significant increase, which reflects the development of the infrastructure and the expansion in the use of electronic payment channels and the impact of the campaign launched by the Prime Minister to activate electronic payment operations in general, and in the government sector in particular.”

 He added that “these upward trends continued to develop in 2024, as the amounts processed in the national switchboard systems amounted to more than (2) trillion Iraqi dinars in July alone, compared to (800) billion dinars in the same month of 2023, after which it became (1) trillion dinars in January of 2024,” noting that “government payments witnessed an additional increase, reaching (912) billion Iraqi dinars last July compared to (287) million dinars in the same month of 2023.” 

Al-Alaq pointed out that “payment operations at fuel stations in Baghdad alone have increased significantly, recording more than (44) billion dinars in July of this year, compared to (183) million dinars in July 2023, and (4.5) billion dinars in December 2023,” revealing “a huge increase in the number of points of sale (POS) to reach more than (50) thousand points of sale this year compared to approximately (11) thousand POS points of sale at the beginning of 2023, and thousands of them in government institutions after they were zero before the launch of the campaign in June 2023.” The governor expressed his “hope that government institutions will adopt the establishment of units specialized in electronic payment technologies to work on following up and developing this important aspect.” link

ANALYSIS: 

The Central Bank of Iraq, under Governor Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq, is making significant strides in advancing electronic payment systems in alignment with directives from the Prime Minister and the government’s broader program. 

Recent developments include a substantial increase in transactions processed through the national switchboard and a notable rise in the number of points of sale (POS).

In 2023, the value of transactions via the national switchboard saw a marked increase, reaching over 2 trillion Iraqi dinars in July 2024 compared to 800 billion dinars in July 2023. Similarly, government payments grew significantly from 287 million dinars in July 2023 to 912 billion dinars in July 2024.

The transition to electronic payments has also impacted fuel stations in Baghdad, where transactions surged from 183 million dinars in July 2023 to 44 billion dinars in July 2024. 

Additionally, the number of POS systems has expanded dramatically from around 11,000 at the start of 2023 to over 50,000 this year.

Governor Al-Alaq expressed optimism about the continued development of electronic payment systems and encouraged government institutions to establish dedicated units to further this progress.