On July 3, the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq ruled that the MyAccount program, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) financial inclusion initiative, is constitutional in response to a clarification request by KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.

The Federal Supreme Court clarified that public and private banks licensed by the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) and present in the Kurdistan Region can participate in the domiciliation of public sector salaries. 

Moreover, it added that KRG employees have an inherent right to pick their bank, reaffirming their financial rights under the law.

In a post on X on July 3, KRG Prime Minister Barzani welcomed the clarification by the Federal Supreme Court on the use of government and private banks in the MyAccount program.

“As we have always said, our citizens must enjoy the same rights as Iraqis elsewhere in the country, including KRG employees’ right to freely choose their bank to receive their salary through banks licensed and approved by the CBI,” he said.

“That has been the guiding principle of the MyAccount initiative: working through the CBI,” he added. “Today’s clarification reaffirms that inherent right. I urge KRG employees to register as soon as possible.”

“Today’s progress allows us to accelerate the MyAccount initiative and deliver on our promise of making one million citizens bankable by the end of the year. It also brings more certainty to the Erbil-Baghdad relationship and creates space to resolve other disputes.”

In a post on X, Deputy Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Barzani Aziz Ahmad said that this “clarification reinforces the CBI’s role as the sole regulator of the banking sector. We will continue working with them to expand payment options in the coming months.”

“We will now accelerate our goal of reaching one million accounts by the end of 2024. This is Prime Minister Barzani’s promise.”

He also added that the KRG looks forward to expanding partnerships with other private banks in the months ahead.

Read More: KRG Welcomes Federal Court Decision on Banks

The KRG on July 2 welcomed a letter from Federal Supreme Court of Iraq President Judge Jassim Muhammad Abboud reaffirming that public employees in the Kurdistan Region have the freedom to bank their salaries with any CBI-licensed public or private banks.

Read More: MyAccount Financial Inclusion Project Follows Iraqi Regulations: KRG Officials

The KRG’s MyAccount project aims to accelerate bank account creation for public employees in the Kurdistan Region in order to modernize the banking system as the region moves toward a cashless society.

In the past, Iraq’s Ministry of Finance refused to use the KRG’s MyAccount digital banking initiative and underlined that public employees should use the public Rafidain Bank or Rasheed Bank.