The dollar crisis is considered one of the most intractable crises in Iraq, and this crisis worsened when strange decisions were issued, including restricting the sale of dollars to travelers to certain companies and exchange offices and not others.
This matter prompts the citizen to ask, what is the benefit of designating certain offices and companies to sell the dollar? Does it give the country a certain interest that preserves this currency or reduces inflation in the country, or are there other purposes in this matter?
Therefore, the decisions issued by the official authorities raise many question marks, especially with the existence of practices that require contemplation.
The Central Bank of Iraq revealed, at the beginning of this month, the new mechanism for travelers to receive foreign currency (dollars), which will be exclusively through the outlets of companies and banks in international airports, stressing that the goal of the new mechanism, which will enter into force on July 14, is to deliver the dollar to the real traveler and pass sound transactions, in addition to facilitating travelers’ access to the dollar more quickly.
The Central Bank reviewed the new mechanism for travelers to receive their share of foreign currency (dollars) by the traveling citizen going to the authorized exchange companies spread across all cities to deliver the amount in dinars equivalent to the citizen’s share of the dollar according to the official exchange rate of the Central Bank of Iraq. The company will work to enter the traveling citizen’s data and upload his name to the electronic platform of the Central Bank of Iraq and deliver him a receipt confirming his deposit of the dinar, to receive the cash dollar inside the airport exclusively.
The bank explained that upon completion of the departure procedures, the amount will be delivered to him in dollars through the outlets available at the airport, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The bank indicated in the statement that it decided to allow exchange companies to receive more than one share during the week in order to achieve full response to travelers’ requests.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Iraq directed exchange companies to proceed with the instructions to launch the new mechanism for delivering dollars at airports.
This came in a letter addressed by the bank’s management in an official letter issued on the fourth of July and signed by the Director of Supervision of Non-Banking Financial Institutions, Rafeef Mu’ayyad Bashir, to four exchange companies that provide dollars to travelers at Iraqi airports.
The Central Bank of Iraq issued new instructions regarding granting US dollars to travelers, indicating that these instructions will come into effect starting from July 14.
According to the instructions issued by the bank, Rafidain, Rashid, and Iraqi Trade Banks, exchange companies currently operating at airports, and exchange companies of category A and B were directed that “in order to ensure that travelers receive cash dollars and to prevent exchange companies from passing improper transactions, it was decided to set 7/14/2024 as the final date for starting the mechanism of granting dollars to travelers at airports exclusively.”
According to the Central Bank, the aforementioned banks and exchange companies operating at the airport are entitled to a fixed commission of (15,000) dinars from the customer for each transaction, and the exchange companies outside the airport collect it for the benefit of the companies and banks operating at the airport, according to a mechanism determined between the two parties, the banks and companies operating at the airport and the exchange companies outside the airport.
For his part, economic expert Diaa Al-Mohsen believed that limiting the sale of dollars to travelers to certain companies confirms that political parties stand behind those companies to ensure obtaining foreign currency.
Al-Mohsen told Al-Maalouma, “There are many problems in the monetary authority that need solutions and decisions in order to serve the citizen, away from complicating matters and increasing inflation rates.”
He added that “the increase in cash commissions during the exchange process between the dinar and the dollar from 15 thousand to 25 thousand will only benefit exchange offices, after the sale of dollars to travelers was restricted to specific exchange offices or companies.”
He pointed out that “there is confusion in making financial decisions regarding the process of selling the dollar, especially with the smuggling of the dollar through forging cards or travel tickets to obtain foreign currency from official sources and ensure its arrival to exchange companies.”
The currency markets in Iraq witnessed a noticeable increase in the prices of foreign currency in Iraq, which indicates that the procedures of the Central Bank regarding this file are not clear and did not reduce the selling prices of the dollar.
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