THE CENTRAL BANK ANNOUNCES SIGNIFICANT STRIDES IN INCREASING ELECTRONIC PAYMENT TOOLS
THE CENTRAL BANK ANNOUNCES SIGNIFICANT STRIDES IN INCREASING ELECTRONIC PAYMENT TOOLS
Wednesday, 16 February 2022 1:32 PM
Baghdad/National News Center
Today, Wednesday, the Central Bank announced that it has made significant strides in increasing electronic payment tools.
A statement by the Association of Banks, received by the National News Center, stated that it “organized an Iraqi-Jordanian banking forum in Baghdad,” noting that “the forum was held in the presence of the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Ammar Hamad, and the Jordanian Minister of Digital Economy, Ahmed Al-Hanahadeh, and a number of Iraqi and Jordanian banks and payment companies.”
The Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Ammar Hamad Khalaf, said, according to the statement, “This forum comes at a very important time, as the Central Bank has made important strides in increasing electronic payment tools and transforming Iraqi society into a digital society and gradually leaving cash dealing,” explaining that “the Central Bank has a strategy to implement financial inclusion tools.
He added that “the Iraqi banking sector is in the growth stage, and it can cooperate with Jordanian electronic payment companies, which will reflect positively on the country’s economy.”
While the advisor of the Association of Banks, Samir Al-Nusairi, confirmed that “the Iraqi banking sector has the human and material capabilities to increase the use of electronic payment,” noting that “there are many international companies such as MasterCard and Visa Card working in Iraq, and this facilitates the electronic payment process.”
The Director General of the Payments Department at the Central Bank, Doha Abdul Karim, said, “The Central Bank has a strategy and is determined to implement it and succeed, to move the country to the use of electronic payment tools,” adding that “the banking sector has a clear vision of moving towards digital progress as well as finding solutions to problems that may facing us.”
And the Deputy Executive Director of the Association of Iraqi Private Banks, Ahmed Al-Hashemi, said, “The Iraqi society is ready to shift towards using electronic payment tools, after settling employee salaries,” noting that “the current trend is focused on merchants in order to publish points of sale.”
He pointed out that “the Association of Iraqi Private Banks is ready for the success of the Central Bank’s strategy to enhance the concept of financial inclusion, through the electronic collection of various government bills, such as the issuance of passports, the national card, and others, which contributes to reducing the time for completing the transaction and reducing financial corruption.”
For his part, Jordanian Minister of Digital Economy Ahmad Al-Hanahadeh said, “The delegation includes a number of Jordanian companies that intend to enter the Iraqi market and work within the banking and other economic sectors, given that the Iraqi market is very similar to the Jordanian market,” noting that “the Iraqi market is complementary to the market.” Jordan, not competitors.
He pointed out that “financial inclusion in Jordan was able to achieve a qualitative leap, as it was 25% and now it has reached 60%,” noting that “electronic payment operations through collecting government bills in Jordan have reached 80%.”
nnciraq.com
