Researcher and specialist in financial and banking Mustafa Hantoush confirmed today, Tuesday, that electronic payment reduces the costs of paper currency and supports economic transparency.
Hantoush said in a statement to the Al-Maalouma Agency, “There are major developments in the electronic payment sector in Iraq,” noting that “the government has formed a special committee in cooperation with the Central Bank to support this system.”
He pointed out that “the value of electronic payment in Iraq witnessed a huge leap, as it did not exceed 300 billion dinars during the years 2020-2021, but today it has reached 10 trillion dinars,” indicating that “this development was accompanied by a significant expansion in the use of financial technology within state departments, as the number of government departments that rely on this system increased from only 8 departments to more than 600 departments.”
He added, “The number of point-of-sale (POS) devices has witnessed remarkable growth, jumping from 8,000 devices to more than 40,000 devices, reflecting the rapid expansion in the infrastructure needed to implement electronic payment systems.”
He explained that “electronic payment exempts the state from the high cost of printing paper currency, in addition to providing solutions to the cash liquidity crisis. It also enables the government to accurately read the market, monitor profitable sectors, and determine the locations of money flow, which contributes to strengthening the national economy.”
He pointed out that “the government has succeeded in marketing the culture of electronic payment, but it still needs to exert more efforts to enhance public awareness about the importance of this system and increase reliance on it.”
(If you remember in early January the Finance Committee said this was their goal to market the electronic payment process and I know from my CBI contact that this had to be accomplished to conduct the Project to Delete the Zeros. Well… they are telling us this is now successful and done. What next?)
