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Global Visa: 81 percent of Iraqis have no bank accounts
Economical 04/03/2023
Baghdad: Hussein Thaghb Al-Tamimi
The regional director of Visa International, Laila Sarhan, revealed the decline in Iraqis' dealings with banks, noting that
81% of the population does not have banking dealings.
At the same time, she explained that the
Iraqi banking system had begun to shift towards digital banking services, while she welcomed the move towards the electronic payment system. Sarhan said, in an interview with “Al-Sabah”:
“The meetings of the company’s team in Iraq with the Prime Minister and the Governor of the Central Bank focused on developing the reality of electronic payment within the Iraqi labor market and in a way that achieves the goals of the Iraqi Central Bank by moving towards electronic transactions completely. She added that
"electronic payment in the country is currently witnessing a major transformation because the
opportunities are great within the Iraqi market in the field of payments, in light of the low dealings of citizens with banks, as
we find that 81% of the population does not have banking dealings, and
the reason is the low financial culture," welcoming the government's efforts. to encourage electronic payments. And she revealed that
there is “great optimism about what can be done in Iraq in cooperation with the government, the banking system and all sectors, and support for digital transformation efforts in terms of financial support and a culture of financial education, and
we can also propose appropriate solutions for the Iraqi market, because
Iraq is still at the beginning of the journey, not He had to start from scratch.”
Sarhan believes that «the directives of the Council of Ministers regarding the activation of points of sale in Iraq, is very important and goes towards creating real electronic transactions, especially since many merchants today do not have a POS, but they can have smart phones. And she pointed out that
“after the Corona pandemic, a major shift occurred in the reality of digital transactions, and
the citizen began to interact strongly with electronic payment tools, by shifting towards these transactions in full.
And the regional director of the global company, Visa, stated that
“fraud via the Internet represents a major challenge that can be dealt with, and the
infrastructure needs to be developed as well as financial culture, and
it can be achieved through seminars and programs,” explaining that
“global fraud rates are less than 7 cents per US dollar, Also, the
systems that invest in artificial intelligence helped a lot in securing this solution.” She pointed out that
“financial inclusion and digital transformation is everyone’s responsibility, and
Visa’s vision certainly matches the vision of the Iraqi government with easy and smooth services that suit the public, and
then efforts are made to provide e-commerce in the easiest possible way, such as the Central Bank’s instructions, as it facilitates many digital cards and prepaid wallets for the citizen, each
These things are important for digital transformation.”
Regarding the cost borne by the citizen, she said,
“The citizen receives the safe service, and therefore there is a facilitation of daily commercial operations, and in
this way he saves effort and time for his dealings with banks and transfer shops, and
with this card he can buy in the electronic market.” Sarhan warned that
“the banking system is undergoing transformation, empowerment, and mechanization in terms of digital banking services, and we see that
it is possible for the card to be digital in an application and reach the user, and
then it will be a tangible card (plastic), as
last year witnessed banking transactions applications, and
the individual can open an account.” In a fast and official way,
it facilitates the transfer of funds from inside to outside and vice versa. And she stressed that
“the difficulties facing the implementation of the tasks are represented by the infrastructure, and coordination with the public to increase confidence in financial payments, and the
partnership of Iraqi banks with the company is very important to expand financial inclusion and develop the Iraqi banking system,” pointing to
“the existence of communication with the Central Bank of Iraq regarding mutual advice.”
We are also working on 3 important frameworks; operational, solutions, legislative. Sarhan pointed out,
“There are calls for the private sector to be an active partner in the digital transformation process, and here
it is necessary to run workshops with a number of key players and service providers.
There was a discussion about the use of points of sale, and
there was a discussion with the prime minister, and
we are waiting for how we can take remarkable steps so that the public can use of electronic payment.
https://alsabaah.iq/74521-.html
