Great efforts are being made to protect the national currency and enhance its economic security from counterfeiters and money laundering.
Great efforts are being made to protect the national currency and enhance its economic security from counterfeiters and money laundering.
2025-02-01
Recently, great efforts have been made to protect the national currency and enhance its economic security. The Central Bank of Iraq revealed a set of modern security marks that were added to the circulating banknotes as a qualitative step that reflects the keenness to keep pace with global developments in the field of printing and securing currencies. On January 19, the Central Bank of Iraq revealed the security marks of the circulating banknotes, with the aim of educating the public, as well as companies and commercial banks that deal with these banknotes on a daily basis. It reviewed these improved security marks through a technical bulletin, in which it indicated the introduction of prominent marks on the new banknotes to enable the visually impaired to identify the banknote denominations by touch.
In the same context, Mazhar Mohammed Saleh, the economic advisor to the Prime Minister, confirmed that Iraq’s decision to print a new currency is a natural decision that comes within the state’s efforts to protect its national currency and enhance its security. Saleh explained that since the first issuance of the currency in 1934, Iraq has printed its currencies at the largest international printing companies, with the exception of the period of the blockade, when the state was forced to resort to local printing.
He also indicated that Iraq still relies on the largest international companies specialized in printing currencies, which are companies that enjoy a good reputation, high reliability and adhere to the highest international safety standards. He pointed out that this matter is of great importance to Iraqi economic security and global security in general.
He added that Iraq reprinted its currency after 2003 by the largest international companies, including British and German companies. He explained that reprinting the currency is a routine procedure that is carried out periodically to replace damaged papers and introduce new security improvements to the currency to protect citizens from counterfeiting and money laundering.
He continued, stressing that these measures come within the framework of the state’s keenness to protect citizens’ economic rights and ensure the stability of the Iraqi economy. He pointed out that the Central Bank of Iraq is the only body authorized to issue currency in accordance with the law, and there is strict security control over the printing and circulation process to prevent the entry of counterfeit currencies into the country.
The advisor stressed that the cost of reprinting one currency is very simple, not exceeding cents, compared to its benefits, and that this procedure is an integral part of the policy of central banks around the world to maintain the stability of national currencies and protect national economies.
In the same context, Mustafa Hantoush, a financial and banking researcher, believed that the process of printing new currency to replace damaged ones or add to the market in exchange for real balances in international banks is a correct step.
Hantoush stated that Iraq is continuing the process of printing local currency to be used in replacing the damaged currency that was originally issued or to be used in issuing a new currency for the first time in exchange for real balances in international banks, indicating that Iraq actually possesses an excellent balance of foreign currencies and gold and it balances them against any dinar that it prints and it is one of the best equivalents in the world.
He explained that the process of adding security signs to a new currency is a correct process and not a mistake; Iraq in any case needs a currency print to replace the damaged one, and if it has better security features, it is a good sign, especially since issuing the new currency, whether with new security signs or the same as the previous one, will be at the same cost, so there is no problem with it.
He also stressed that the issue is not related to a radical change in the form of the currency, but rather it is the same currency but with better security specifications.
While the Iraqi parliament member Haitham Al-Zarkani confirmed that the Central Bank’s talk about steps to issue a currency with security solidity is a commendable effort, Al-Zarkani explained in his interview with Al Jazeera Net that any steps to make the Iraqi currency solid and accepted globally are of utmost importance, especially since the Iraqi currency is rarely used in neighboring countries due to the instability of exchange rates and the non-recognition of it by some Arab and European countries as a global currency.
Al-Zarkani attributed this weakness to cases of counterfeiting, noting that issuing a currency that takes into account security aspects and meets the needs of the visually impaired represents an important step on the security, humanitarian and economic levels at the same time, without wasting resources or diminishing the value of the Iraqi currency in global markets.
In 2018, the Central Bank of Iraq issued a second edition of banknotes in denominations (25,000, 10,000, 1,000, 500, 250), and in 2013, it introduced some technical and technological updates to the 2003 edition, except for the (50) dinar denomination, which was withdrawn from circulation in 2015. At the end of 2015, it issued the (50,000) dinar denomination to complete the current series in circulation.
For his part, economic expert Safwan Qusay confirmed that the Central Bank is striving to make paper currency more secure and difficult to counterfeit and manipulate, by moving towards supporting the policy of financial inclusion and shifting to electronic transactions.
However, Qusay pointed out that the process of withdrawing and issuing money with a higher security force does not pose any risks, especially since the circulating monetary mass of 100 trillion dinars (about 76 billion dollars) is under the control of the Central Bank and there is no new issuance of the currency in a different form, but rather it is merely a replacement of the type of currency existing in the market.
Qusay added that this policy is followed in all countries of the world, as currencies require modern technologies to reduce the possibility of counterfeiting and forgery.
Regarding the Central Bank’s talk about using special inks to serve the visually impaired, the expert confirmed that there is a real interest in this category, and that the process of selecting international printing presses specialized in producing currencies is carried out with high precision to ensure their quality and safety, explaining that the process of caring for the visually impaired comes from the Central Bank’s keenness to meet the needs of all segments of society, and that this decision was not arbitrary, but rather came in response to a real need that the bank had identified in the market.
Qusay also stressed that replacing or improving the quality of prints is in line with the Central Bank’s directives to all banks, and that this step will not affect citizens’ confidence in the currency in circulation, noting that the main focus currently is on achieving financial inclusion and enhancing the use of credit cards to ensure the speed and security of transactions and protect the local market from any external interference.
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