CBI reports electronic payments soar to 2 trillion dinars

Shafaq News/ On Saturday, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), Ali Al-Alaq, reported a record increase in electronic payment transactions, which surged from 800 billion to 2 trillion dinars in a year, with government payments reaching 912 billion dinars in July 2024.

Al-Alaq, speaking at a workshop on advancing electronic payments organized by the “Osoul” Foundation for Economic and Sustainable Development and covered by Shafaq News Agency, highlighted that “the CBI is aligning with the government program and the Prime Minister’s directives to support electronic payments.

"We are proud of our achievements and the significant increase in amounts processed through the national exchange in 2023, which reflects improved infrastructure, expanded use of electronic payment channels, and the impact of the PM's campaign to boost electronic payments, especially in the government sector."

The Governor noted that “in 2024, upward trends continued with processed amounts in national exchange systems exceeding 2 trillion Iraqi dinars (1.527 billion USD) in July alone, up from 800 billion dinars (610,687,016 USD) in July 2023, and reaching 1 trillion dinars (763,855,422 USD) in December 2024.”

“Additionally, government payments saw a significant increase, rising to 912 billion dinars last July from 287 million dinars (219,083.97 USD) in July 2023.”

Al-Alaq further indicated that “payments at Baghdad gas stations surged to over 44 billion dinars in July 2024, up from 183 million dinars (139,694.65 USD) in July 2023 and 4.5 billion dinars (3,435,114.46 USD) in December 2023.”

Moreover, he reported “a significant increase in POS points of sale, which have risen to over 50,000 this year from about 11,000 at the start of 2023, including thousands in government institutions, up from zero before the campaign began in June 2023.”

“We hope government institutions will establish specialized units to oversee and advance electronic payment technologies.”