Iraqi parliamentary Finance Committee has called for the Iraqi banks to adopt some modern banking services, such as the settlement of financial transactions through mobile phones, or credit cards, so as to reduce the handling of paper currency.
Abdul Hussein al-Yasiri, a well known political figure in Iraq and a member of the Finance Committee, stated to Radio Free Iraq “to find new methods for the settlement of cash transactions electronically, which will make it easier for both citizens and traders to hold transactions without the need to review the banks, not mentioning the consequences of carrying cash, and the risk of theft, in addition to reducing the use of paper currency, which evidently will reduce the need to replace paper currencies by printing new papers from time to time.”
Economists welcomed this parliamentary call because in their view constitutes a step in the right direction. However, others said that there is some exaggeration about the cash circulation in Iraq.
According to the President of Association of Private Banks in Iraq, Abdul Aziz Hassoun, for now, it’s very difficult to launch electronic transactions due to the lack of infrastructure required for the adoption of this type of banking services.
Iraq News
26 October