💰 Over 20 years ago, the Iraqi dinar rate was $3.22, based mainly on oil prices.
🌟 Now, Iraq has diversified income sources including $16 trillion in rare minerals, tourism, and agriculture, making the economy very promising.
📈 Given neighboring Middle Eastern countries’ rates, an exchange rate around $3.80 to just over $4.00 seems realistic.
🏦 Iraqi banks are currently training employees on combating counterfeiting and smuggling to secure monetary reform.
❌ Training does not involve the “3-zero notes” (lower denomination dinar notes), indicating those notes will likely be removed or replaced.
⏳ The lower denomination notes and new exchange rate will likely be introduced simultaneously as part of the reform process.
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Frank26
Right now they're training the banks of Iraq, their employees, on how to deal with counterfeiting and smuggling...for the security and stability of their monetary reform.
But they're to using the 3-zero notes to train them with?
...This pattern is one that you have to respect...There's no crime against that currency because that currency won't exist. So what are you using, the lower notes?
No, they don't want to show the lower notes just yet. They're going to do the lower notes and exchange rate at pretty much the same time..
[Iraq boots-on-the-ground report]
FIREFLY:The rate over 20 years ago was $3.22 and that was just off the price of oil. Now we have non-oil revenues and $16 trillion alone in rare minerals... tourism... agriculture... This is very promising.
FRANK: $3.22 was over 20 years ago...When you look at the exchange rate of the other Middle Eastern countries around you, it's not too far-fetched that you could be somewhere around $3.80 to just a pinch over $4.00.
A loss of this scale would be
immediately detected.
🚫 Disinformation Alert:
Rumors are seen as attempts to undermine public trust.
Citizens urged to avoid spreading false news, especially during sensitive financial reforms.
📌 Bottom Line: No IQD catastrophe—just viral fake news. Iraq's currency is safe and accounted for.
📎 Source: [Iraqi News Agency (INA)]
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Govt Denies Destruction of 62 Trillion Iraqi Dinar
The Financial Adviser to the Iraqi Prime Minister, Dr. Mudhhir Mohammed Saleh, has firmly denied social media rumours claiming the destruction of half of Iraq's currency supply - approximately 62 trillion dinars [$47 billion] - as "economically absurd and completely unfounded".
In remarks to the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA), Saleh clarified that Iraq's total issued monetary mass does not exceed 100 trillion dinars, including both circulating and reserve cash. The notion that more than half of this amount could be destroyed by environmental or biological factors - as claimed in rumours citing "rats and mice" - is "impossible and institutionally unthinkable".
He explained that about 88 percent of Iraq's money supply is held outside the banking system, largely by individuals due to longstanding cultural habits, not stored in a single location that could suffer such widespread damage.
Saleh stressed that Iraq's currency management is governed by strict procedures covering printing, storage, inspection, and replacement. "Such a massive loss could not occur without detection," he said, denouncing the rumours as a deliberate attempt to stir public anxiety.
He urged citizens to avoid spreading fabricated news that undermines public trust, especially during a period requiring national cohesion and confidence in the country's financial institutions.
🙏 Strong emphasis on faith and trust as a foundation amid financial uncertainty.
💬 Insider banking sources reveal imminent monetary reform steps, including detailed preparations within Iraq’s banking system.
🏦 Planned temporary shutdown of banks and businesses is a key step toward implementing a new exchange rate and modernizing the financial system.
📉 Lower denomination dinar notes (“three zero notes”) are being phased out, signaling currency redenomination or revaluation.
🌍 Iraq’s economy is diversifying beyond oil, with growing revenues from rare minerals, agriculture, and tourism—strengthening its financial outlook.
📉 Officials deny rumors about massive currency losses (e.g., trillions lost to rodents), highlighting challenges with misinformation during reform.
💹 Iraq’s currency reform reflects global efforts to manage exchange rates and currency stability, influenced by broader geopolitical and economic policies.
🔒 Banking staff are undergoing fraud and anti-money laundering training as part of reform protocols.
💻 The reform includes a shift toward digital and electronic currency systems for enhanced transparency and control.
Key Takeaway: The monetary reform in Iraq is a carefully orchestrated process involving strategic infrastructure changes, currency cleanup, and economic diversification, set within a global context of financial realignment. Reliable insider information and spiritual grounding play vital roles in navigating the transition amid widespread rumors and uncertainty.
⚠️ Deep Distrust: Over 90% of Iraq’s money supply is hoarded outside banks—citizens fear long delays and rejection when withdrawing from government or private banks.
😟 Personal Stories: Wajdan Saleh avoided depositing 5 million dinars due to impossible withdrawal rules. Now she keeps remittances at home.
📉 Systemic Impact: This distrust cripples monetary circulation, depletes liquidity, and weakens banks' ability to finance development and issue loans.
🏛️ Institutional Causes: Weak digital systems, poor banking culture, limited branches, and past corruption feed cash-hoarding habits.
🤝 Economic Fallout: Inflation control weakens, monetary policy tools lose traction, and investors turn to informal financing.
📝 Expert View: Economist Dr. Ali Daadoush: "92% of money is outside the banking system—this is a structural fragility rooted in decades of instability."
✅ Call to Action: MPs urge reforms: simplify banking procedures, expand banking culture, adopt e‑commerce, and restore trust through transparency and accessibility.
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Iraqis do not trust banks. More than 90% of the money supply is outside the banking system.
The relationship between Iraqi citizens and banks, both governmental and private, remains isolated or nearly severed, especially when it comes to depositing money with these banks. Citizens view these banks as deep wells that hide their money beneath the routine of lengthy transactions, while they see the rooms and closets of their homes as the safest places for their cash.
Citizen Wajdan Saleh is one of those people. She is afraid to deposit her money in Iraqi banks and prefers to keep it at home, citing her fear that the banks will not easily return her money if she needs it.
"I once deposited 5 million dinars in a government bank, and when I went to withdraw it after a long period of time, they asked me to follow impossible procedures that took more than a week," Wajdan told Shafaq News Agency.
Wajdan added that since then she has not deposited any money, even the remittances she receives from relatives outside Iraq, which she receives immediately upon arrival.
"The lack of trust between citizens and banks has led to citizens hoarding their money at home and not depositing it in banks, which has significantly impacted the monetary aggregate," MP Mustafa Al-Karawi asserted. He added, "The issue of developing the banking sector and merging banks has been raised repeatedly in parliament, and the primary reason behind this is the loss of confidence citizens have had in the banking system in Iraq."
Speaking to Shafaq News, Al-Karawi explained that this problem stems from long-standing issues related to weak electronic and banking accounting systems, which has made citizens reluctant to use them and prefer to withdraw their full salaries as soon as they are deposited into the card, leaving no balance.
He points out that the absence of modern banking systems has led people to refrain from depositing and saving in banks, which prompts many to hoard their money at home, which in turn leads to economic stagnation and reduces the amount of liquidity circulating in the market.
Al-Karawi calls for raising citizens' awareness and banking culture, as well as for government and commercial institutions and the private sector to adopt e-commerce transactions, as a key path to stimulating economic activity.
He concluded by saying that deposits in banks not only provide financial security for citizens, but also enable banks to provide development services such as loans and advances, which contribute to stimulating the market and achieving the desired economic growth.
Economist Dr. Ali Daadoush told Shafaq News Agency, "The phenomenon of hoarding money amounts to 92% of the monetary mass outside the banking system. It represents a fundamental challenge to the monetary and financial structure in Iraq and is one of the most prominent manifestations of the structural fragility of the monetary economy." He emphasized that "this phenomenon is complex and has behavioral, institutional, and economic dimensions."
He adds, "The culture of hoarding is not a new phenomenon. It is an extension of decades of political and economic instability, from blockades to sanctions, from a lack of security to fragile institutions. During these periods, the idea that paper money in your pocket is better than money in the bank became ingrained in the Iraqi mindset. However, this culture did not remain within the framework of individual behavior alone, but rather transformed into a general phenomenon, stifling the economic cycle and weakening the ability of banks to perform their vital functions, from financing to investment, from oversight to the activation of monetary instruments."
Daadoush points out that "the majority of those who hoard cash are individuals, particularly in small towns, rural areas, and areas not covered by banking services. This is due to a lack of trust in banks, a result of past experiences of bankruptcy, seizure, or corruption, and the absence of a culture of financial inclusion in the educational and media systems."
Daadoush points to "the difficulty of banking procedures, the lack of widespread branch presence, and the decline in digital banking services, which push people to cling to cash as an easier means of payment."
According to experts, this phenomenon has many negative aspects, including the central bank losing effective control over the money supply, and its tools, such as interest rates and rediscounting, becoming less effective. Meanwhile, banks suffer from a liquidity crunch, which weakens their ability to finance projects and pushes investors toward informal financing. Furthermore, managing inflation due to the unofficial money supply negatively impacts the central bank's decisions in achieving its primary objective of controlling the general price level and achieving stability.
Citizen Abdul Ali Alwan told Shafaq News Agency, "The procedures for opening a bank account require official identification documents and an amount not exceeding $100. This is normal, but the problem becomes more complicated if we are asked to withdraw part of the deposited amount."
He added, "Routine procedures hinder the withdrawal process and take more than a week."
Due to the instability and the closure of some private banks due to external sanctions, some people refuse to deposit money in these banks.
Contractor Abdul Zahra Fadel explains, "There are often times when there is a quick and urgent need for money, but banking procedures stand in the way. Some private banks are subject to sanctions that require them to shut down for a period of time, and then we face numerous problems."
He pointed out in an interview with Shafaq News Agency: "When a citizen opens a bank account in hard currency, the money transferred to him through the bank is not disbursed in the same currency," noting that "the money transfer is also not delivered at the parallel rate under the pretext that the account opened with the bank is in hard currency, and another account must be opened in local currency in order to withdraw the transfer."
He asserts that "banks in Baghdad adopt complex and often unreasonable procedures that place customers in prolonged suffering. This is completely different from the banks in the region, which enjoy ease and transparency in all their banking transactions."
Ultimately, the Iraqi government must improve the administrative performance of banks and increase citizen confidence in the banking system by facilitating the procedures for withdrawing and depositing funds. link
☕️ Weekend Coffee with MarkZ Highlights (Aug 2, 2025)
🕰️ MarkZ reminds: This is his opinion; watch the full video for full context and consult professionals for financial decisions.
💬 Bond/Reset Rumors: Elders are seeking key historic bond artifacts. Deals are trying to get done fast but some non-negotiable points remain. Some optimism, but no rush this weekend.
🏦 No Activity at Banks/Redemption Centers This Weekend
: Banking sources say no one is working this weekend—likely no movement until after.
🇮🇶 Iraq Updates:
Baiji city is being rebuilt as an oil and industrial hub, boosting Iraq’s economy beyond oil.
Chinese cranes modernizing Iraqi ports for better goods movement.
Sudani denies rumors about destruction of 62 trillion dinars, though MarkZ speculates it might be damage control ahead of a revaluation—signaling RV could be imminent.
🌍 RV Speculation: Some believe Iraq might RV first, followed by other countries on their own timeline.
💰 Currency Rate Hopes & Rumors:
No real rates known until redemption appointments.
Rumors: Bolivar possibly at $0.30; hopes VND (Vietnamese Dong) will be over $2.
The community is eager and praying for the RV to happen soon.
🇺🇸 Trump & Tariffs:
Tariff money could cut 20% of the US federal budget deficit.
🙏 Closing: Community encouraged to stay hopeful; thanks to MarkZ and team for insights. New schedule: no more Monday and Friday nightly podcasts.
