6.8 trillion dinars in electronic collections in 2025
6.8 trillion dinars in electronic collections in 2025
09/17/2025
The Central Bank of Iraq revealed that the total government electronic collections through points of sale (POS) during the first eight months of 2025 exceeded six trillion dinars, while the number of employee payroll cards exceeded five million.
The Director General of the Information Technology and Payments Department at the Central Bank of Iraq, Adnan Asaad, told Al-Sabah: “The volume of government electronic collections via points of sale has so far reached more than 6.8 trillion dinars in the first eight months of this year,” expecting it to “exceed 10 trillion dinars by the end of this year, while last year it reached approximately 9 trillion dinars. Meanwhile, collections from gas stations exceeded 750 billion dinars, after it was 465 billion dinars last year.” He added, “The total government electronic collection through various payment instruments has reached approximately 2.1 trillion dinars, while last year it reached approximately 322 billion dinars,” noting that “49 ministries and agencies have approved the deployment of electronic payment instruments in more than 6,600 formations.”
Asaad continued, “The number of domiciled employee cards has reached approximately 5.6 million, while the value of the use of electronic payment systems for real-time settlement has exceeded 200 trillion dinars. Automated clearing has exceeded 35 trillion dinars, and the national switchboard has recorded approximately 20 trillion dinars.”
The bank’s Director General of Information Technology and Payments explained that “these figures for 2025 reflect the continued expansion in the adoption of electronic payment channels and the development of their infrastructure, in line with the Central Bank’s strategic directions and the government’s national plans to enhance financial inclusion and digital transformation in Iraq.” For his part, Ahmed Al-Hathal, a professor of economics at Al-Mustansiriya University, noted that payment systems have demonstrated qualitative leaps in operational infrastructure. Al-Hathal added, in an interview with Al-Sabah, that “the annual value of payments in the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system has increased by more than 2.3 times (from about 160.6 to 374.2 trillion dinars), with the number of transactions increasing by 52%, while the number of RTGS transactions in dollars decreased by about two-thirds, while the value almost doubled, which means that large settlements have been converted to dinars, in addition to the electronic clearing system (ACH), which expresses retail payments such as salaries and bills, as the number of transfers in dinars jumped from 572 thousand to 20.65 million (more than 36 times), with an increase in values to 63.3 trillion dinars (about 2.5 times).”
He added, “The National Retail Payments Infrastructure (IRPSI), linked to e-wallets and points of sale, has witnessed the most significant boom, with the number of transactions increasing from just 7,000 to 58.4 million (about 7,900-fold), and the value jumping from 1.77 to 21.11 trillion dinars (nearly 12-fold), which means that digital payments are moving into widespread daily use.” Al-Hathal proposed “adopting an integrated policy to consolidate this momentum, through fair fee pricing that stimulates commercial acceptance, consumer protection legislation, an immediate, interoperable settlement policy, linking digital payments to government support and salary programs, and expanding infrastructure, digital identity, and financial education.” He explained, “When behavioral momentum is coupled with a reliable operational infrastructure, Iraq can transform from an ’emerging digital experience’ to a less cashless and more inclusive economy over the next few years. In addition, electronic payment services should be made attractive to society through facilitation and full competition for payment companies and institutions, rather than making compulsory use the primary factor for expanding the base.”
alsabaah.iq
