In a post on X on January 9, Aziz Ahmad, Deputy Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, said the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) had paid 220,000 employees through six Central Bank of Iraq-licensed banks this week.
“Bank of Baghdad – one of a handful of Iraqi banks with a U.S. correspondent relationship – made its first payments to KRG beneficiaries. We’re excited about its entry into the market,” Ahmad posted on X. “That’s over $170mn in payments – nearly 25% of the KRG’s payroll.”
The KRG paid 220,000 employees through six @cbiraq-licensed banks this week. Bank of Baghdad - one of a handful of Iraqi banks with a U.S. correspondent relationship - made its first payments to KRG beneficiaries. We're excited about its entry into the market.
— Aziz Ahmad (@azizkahmad) January 9, 2025
That's over $170mn… pic.twitter.com/FCj1LfmOam
On April 7, 2024, the KRG announced that Bank of Baghdad had also joined the KRG’s MyAccount financial inclusion initiative.
The KRG’s MyAccount project aims to utilize advanced digital technologies to effectively and efficiently accelerate bank account creation for government employees.
The KRG started digitizing the payroll process for its 1.2 million public sector employees in September 2023 by helping government workers to register with local banks.
“Next month’s payments will increase to 255,000. With Erbil’s payroll now practically fully paid through banks, Duhok is expected to transition entirely in March,” Ahmad also posted on X.
