The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on July 2 welcomed a letter from President of the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq Judge Jassim Muhammad Abboud regarding the banking rights of public employees in the Kurdistan Region.

“The communication confirms that public employees in the Kurdistan Region, akin to their counterparts elsewhere in Iraq, have the freedom to bank their salaries with any participating public or private banks,” the KRG explained in a statement.

“This correspondence from the Federal Supreme Court represents a positive and fair initiative, granting public employees the freedom and responsibility to choose their banks. In accordance with this development, the KRG will continue to follow the guidelines provided by the Central Bank of Iraq,” the KRG said.

The KRG’s MyAccount project aims to speed up bank account creation for government employees in the Kurdistan Region, with the goal to shift the region toward a cashless society.

The KRG is planning to register all public employees in the Kurdistan Region in the MyAccount project by the end of this year.

The KRG started digitizing the payroll processes for its 1.2 million public sector employees in September 2023 by helping government workers to register with local banks. 

As of early 2024, the list of banks participating in the program included Cihan Bank, RT Bank, National Bank of Iraq, BBAC Bank, and Iraqi Islamic Bank. All of these banks are part of the Central Bank of Iraq’s Tawteen program, which includes 43 banks in total.