The Central Bank of Iraq announced today, Monday, that it will use the best internationally approved electronic payment systems and standards, while also indicating that it will spend hundreds of millions of dollars per year to develop infrastructure systems to lay the groundwork for the development of electronic payments in Iraq.
Ammar Khalaf, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, stated at the first Iraqi Digital Economy Forum, which was attended by a correspondent, that “the digital financial transformation in Iraq began with the localization of the salaries of state employees and the opening of bank accounts, the primary purpose of which was to use electronic payment in daily transactions.” Whether inside or outside Iraq.
According to Khalaf, “Iraqi society prefers to rely on cash in daily transactions, but the government’s efforts to support digital transformation, especially in the financial sector and other sectors, gave a strong impetus to the Central Bank over the past year and it continues to encourage and activate electronic payment in Iraq by issuing many Among the laws, controls and instructions that encourage the use of electronic payment in Iraq.”
According to him, “some ministries responded quickly to the directives of the Central Bank and the Iraqi government, especially the Ministry of Oil by making collections at gas stations and others via electronic payment, as well as the Passports Directorate, which obligated payment to be electronic, in addition to the General Traffic Directorate and other ministries.” He went on to say that “all this support gives a very strong impetus to electronic payment.”
He pointed out that “the Central Bank has been the only influencer for many years, as it has embraced the importance of digital transformation in most of its transactions, and spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually to develop infrastructure systems to build an important base for developing electronic payment in Iraq through the use of the best internationally approved systems and standards in this field.” “.
