Economy News – Baghdad
The Executive Director of the Iraqi Private Banks Association, Ali Tariq, confirmed on Sunday that “the number of electronic payment points in government institutions and shops has increased from 7,000 to 30,000.”
Tariq said, in a statement reported by the “Rudaw” media network, and reviewed by “Al-Eqtisad News”, that “the financial and banking sector, electronic payment companies and other financial institutions in Iraq need to have a greater impact on the lives of citizens in terms of financing or using electronic payment tools and developing them.”
He added that “the Central Bank of Iraq is currently working on a major plan to reform the banking sector in general, whether governmental or private.”
He noted that “the focus in the next phase will be on developing and improving these services to strengthen the Iraqi banking sector, protect depositors’ money and develop the electronic payment system, which contributes significantly to reducing the risks of using cash, whether from damage or forgery, as well as protecting the financial system from money laundering and financing terrorism.”
As for deposits, he confirmed that they are “continuously increasing, whether in government or private banks, and that lending and loans are also continuously increasing.
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Regarding the use of electronic payment tools, he said that “in the last two years the percentage has been very high, in the last year alone about two million electronic payment cards were issued in Iraq, increasing the number to 20 issued cards.”
Regarding the payment devices that we see in shops and government institutions, he pointed out that “they have increased from 7,000 payment points to more than 30,000, and the total transfer of funds via electronic payment last month between financial institutions reached nearly 2 trillion Iraqi dinars.”
The Executive Director of the Iraqi Private Banks Association confirmed that reliance on the banking sector, especially in light of the transfer system to finance foreign trade, “was organized differently than before, and at the end of this year there will also be a shift in the external transfer process to rely more on correspondent banks than the platform in its current state.”
Regarding the collection of government services, he said that “recently there has been a very large acceleration and doubling in the level of government collection.”
He added that “before June 2023, there were about 50 government institutions with their departments that had at least one electronic payment window, but today the number has exceeded 600 payment windows, which makes it easier for citizens to pay faster.”
In the context, he stressed that “many banks rely on digital services and applications throughout Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, which has witnessed significant development in terms of the use of digital services.”
Regarding transferring money abroad, he explained that if “the issue is related to personal transfers, there are specific outlets or ceilings for these transfers.”
In this regard, he said that “the transfer process will be more organized and monitored by correspondent banks in which Iraqi banks have accounts to ensure real transfers and monitoring that facilitates the process of transferring money for merchants outside Iraq.”
