During the inauguration of the fifth Erbil International Technology Exhibition and Conference , Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani underlined that a strong, effective, and active banking system is essential for the Kurdistan Region, and emphasized that the goal of the Ninth Cabinet’s banking reform is to restore the people’s trust in the banking system.
As part of its mission to shift the Kurdistan Region towards a cashless society, the KRG started digitizing the payroll process as part of the MyAccount project for its 1.2 million public sector employees in September 2023 by helping government workers to register with local banks. Until now, Kurdistan’s economy has been primarily cash-based.
Read More: MyAccount Financial Inclusion Project Follows Iraqi Regulations: KRG Officials
The KRG expects to increase the number of digital payments next month in accordance with its commitment to move more than one million KRG beneficiaries into retail banking by the end of 2024. The MyAccount project only uses banks approved by the Central Bank of Iraq.
“A strong, effective, and active banking system is essential. To that end, we have embarked on reforming our banking system to establish a modern and resilient digital economy infrastructure, capable of keeping pace with contemporary advancements,” Prime Minister Barzani said in his speech.
“I am pleased to state that we are currently on the right track toward change and reform in terms of technology and the digitalization of financial and banking services. This progress will further encourage both domestic and international businesspeople and investors to explore investment opportunities in various fields within our region.”
Read More: Federal Supreme Court Affirms Constitutionality of MyAccount
On September 2, the KRG announced that it will pay more than 120,000 public sector beneficiaries that month through the MyAccount initiative.
This figure includes more than 17,000 peshmerga from the integrated brigades, in line with the reform agenda to unite non-partisan units under the umbrella of the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs.
Exciting news for financial institutions in the Kurdistan Region:
— Aziz Ahmad (@azizkahmad) September 2, 2024
The KRG will digitally pay more than 120,000 of its newly-banked employees this week, injecting nearly $100 million into the financial services sector. This represents nearly 20% of the monetary value of the…
“To date, we have successfully integrated over half a million public sector employees into the banking system. In the past 10 months alone, banking services in the Kurdistan Region have expanded five-fold,” Prime Minister Barzani said.
“This month, more than 120,000 employees will receive their payments digitally, and next month, this figure will surpass 200,000, with approximately $200 million deposited directly into bank accounts. Remarkably, private sector banks accomplish this within a single day, whereas the KRG previously required a week and the involvement of numerous accountants to achieve the same outcome.”
Prime Minister Barzani also underlined that the MyAccount project serves as an exemplary demonstration of the initial steps the KRG is taking to restore trust in banks and the banking system.
“Our program aims to register one million salaried employees within the banking system over the course of a year. This represents significant progress, as integrating such a large number of citizens into the banking system is no small feat. While I was initially cautioned about the potential difficulties in achieving this within the given timeframe, I am happy to report that we are steadily approaching our objective.”
He said the project means that thousands of civil servants are no longer burdened with waiting in long lines to receive their salaries.
“Additionally, procedures for exporting and receiving remittances have been streamlined and can now be conveniently conducted via mobile phones. Moreover, we have installed 200 new ATMs throughout the region, bringing the total number to an impressive 1,000.”
“The heightened liquidity and availability of securities are instilling greater confidence in private and commercial banks, enabling them to extend loans to their partners, both individuals and companies.”
So far, some 193 ATMs have been installed in 60 locations across the Kurdistan Region to ensure access to cash for the general public.
