CBI Director talks about exchanging IQD for US dollars for travelers.
This news was released in Baghdad on February 6, 2024. The article was transcribed and added to the IraqiDinarUSD.com blog on February 8, 2024.
According to the Governor of the Central Bank, Ali Al-Alaq, the electronic payment file is a major government priority, and despite pointing out a significant decrease in inflation since the beginning of 2023, he announced that a special mechanism would soon be launched to ensure that the dollar reaches only real travelers.
He continued, "The Prime Minister is fully on board with the transition to electronic payment and consistently holds meetings to streamline the related procedures. We have also made significant progress in implementing electronic payment for collections and payments in government institutions. The Council of Ministers has also approved important measures and decisions to facilitate this process and prevent citizens from being charged fees."
He pointed out that "the Central Bank has a broad strategy in the file of electronic payment and the development of infrastructure and cover any type of electronic payment, whether by cards, mobile phone or other means," adding that the bank is working on a strategy for increasing financial inclusion.
According to him, "direct decisions were issued to support electronic payments, including requiring government agencies to pay and receive by card, as well as linking the renewal of store licenses and their adoption into buying and selling operations with the incentives granted, especially the government's decision to bear them 50 percent, which will leave them marginal."
In the meantime, Al-Alaq declared that "the Central Bank is working to complete the establishment of Riyada Bank, which will support small enterprises through financial services rather than cash."
He emphasized that the key measure of effective monetary policy is managing overall prices and diminishing inflation. He noted the significant decline in inflation from the start of 2023, which aligns with recent comments from the US Treasury assistant. This decrease reflects foreign trade being covered at the official rate and foreign financing operations running smoothly. As a result, all importers and traders have access to the dollar at the official rate and can effectively manage it.
He pointed out that "the Central Bank followed up to the rules and assets of external transfer in accordance with the conditions and requirements it set, and it insisted on implementing them, which prompted many reluctant traders to enter the foreign currency selling platform, especially since its use is easy and safe and allows them to dollar at the official rate."
According to Al-Alaq, the Central Bank can accommodate all requests for the dollar, whether personal, commercial, or any type of request, provided they are valid and legitimate, and the size of the Central Bank's foreign reserves strongly supports this.
As he pointed out, the Central Bank does not have any problems with the supply or sale of dollars, nor does it restrict sales of dollars. The Central Bank did not specify a specific day on which it would be able to purchase dollars, and it did not specify an upper or lower limit for a trader, importer or user of the dollar. Because the rules of this speculation are not available and incorrect, speculation is useless because there is no problem with the response to demand for the dollar."
From time to time, some groups try to stay away from the platform for various reasons, such as evading tax, customs or other fees, or because illegal trade exists, he said. "A drug dealer's money cannot be transferred through the Central Bank, nor can corruption-related money be transferred through the Central Bank."
He pointed out that "the Central Bank is in a comfortable position to respond to requests to buy dollars, and we have sufficient reserves, but some countries lack sufficient reserves to respond to demand, which results in a large price difference between parallel and official exchange rates."
As for providing dollars to travelers, Al-Alaq said, "After we went through the process of selling dollars to citizens and travelers, we found many observations, including that the real traveler has difficulty obtaining dollars, so we held a meeting, and we will come up with a new mechanism after developing its programs related to this subject, under which the dollar will only go to real travelers."
After currencies such as the euro, dirham, Turkish lira, and Indian rupee expanded, the central bank provided payment options to calm and reassure the market.
Note from Blog Editor: The translation did not specify a set limit on how many US dollars can be exchanged at one time. The fact that the US State Department has a Level 4 Travel Warning on Iraq does not help matters.
