{"id":43156,"date":"2026-03-30T15:38:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T15:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/43156\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T15:38:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T15:38:06","slug":"cash-dominates-payments-in-iraq-despite-rise-in-bank-cards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/43156\/","title":{"rendered":"Cash dominates payments in Iraq despite rise in bank cards"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n                            2026-03-30T15:15:34+00:00<\/p>\n<p>                                    font<\/p>\n<p>                                            Enable Reading Mode<\/p>\n<p>\n                                        A-<br \/>\n                                        A<br \/>\n                                        A+\n                                    <\/p>\n<p>Shafaq News-<br \/>\nBaghdad<\/p>\n<p>Cash transactions<br \/>\nremain the preferred method of payment for many Iraqis despite the expansion of<br \/>\nbanking cards and digital applications, as concerns over trust and system<br \/>\nstability continue to limit broader adoption.<\/p>\n<p>Economic expert<br \/>\nMohammed Al-Hassani told Shafaq News on Monday that Iraq\u2019s liquidity structure<br \/>\ncontinues to reflect a heavy reliance on cash, noting that around 40% to 45% of<br \/>\nthe money supply remains outside the banking system, while only 55% to 60% is<br \/>\nheld within banks.<\/p>\n<p>The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) also <a href=\"https:\/\/shafaq.com\/en\/Economy\/Iraq-s-Currency-in-circulation-exceeded-93T-dinars-in-October-2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">indicated<\/a> that total<br \/>\ncash in circulation stands at 93.789<br \/>\ntrillion dinars, while 115.535<br \/>\ntrillion dinars ($79.7 billion) are held within banks. Recent economic reports estimate that 90% to<br \/>\n95% of transactions in Iraq are still conducted in cash.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/shafaq.com\/en\/Report\/Cash-culture-dominates-Iraq-reform-efforts-stall\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Read more: Cash culture dominates Iraq, reform efforts stall<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Financial adviser<br \/>\nto the Prime Minister, Mazhar Mohammed Salih, told our agency that the informal<br \/>\neconomy still accounts for a significant share of activity in Iraq, reinforcing<br \/>\nreliance on cash, particularly in markets and small businesses. He added that<br \/>\ncultural factors and limited digital financial awareness contribute to this preference,<br \/>\nalongside concerns over fees and technical errors, noting that many cardholders<br \/>\nuse their cards primarily to withdraw salaries rather than as a payment tool.<\/p>\n<p>However, Salih<br \/>\npointed to emerging positive indicators, with gradual growth in the use of<br \/>\nelectronic payment cards, particularly at fuel stations and in some services,<br \/>\nsupported by the government\u2019s economic and banking reform program.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to Shafaq News,<br \/>\nfinancial expert Mahmoud Dagher said the shift from cash to electronic payments<br \/>\nfaces several challenges, including the lack of a fully organized economic<br \/>\ncycle, such as business registration, property documentation, and access to<br \/>\nbank accounts. Additionally, the absence of large segments of consumers and<br \/>\nmerchants from the banking system limits the expansion of electronic payment<br \/>\ntools, while increasing trust in the banking sector and offering incentives, such<br \/>\nas discounts or additional benefits, is essential to encourage adoption.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cImposing<br \/>\nelectronic payments by force may not yield positive results,\u201d he stated, noting<br \/>\nthat Iraq\u2019s electronic payment system is still relatively new, having emerged<br \/>\nonly around two years ago.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/shafaq.com\/en\/Report\/From-Cash-to-Cards-Workers-struggle-electronic-payment-prospects-and-Iraq-s-shift-to-a-cashless-future\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Read more: From Cash to Cards: Iraq&#8217;s shift to a cashless future<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2026-03-30T15:15:34+00:00 font Enable Reading Mode A- A A+ Shafaq News- Baghdad Cash transactions remain the preferred method of&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43157,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[14],"tags":[152,18208,18207,18206,94,18209],"class_list":["post-43156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-iraq","tag-breaking","tag-card","tag-cash","tag-cash-dominates-payments-in-iraq-despite-rise-in-bank-cards","tag-iraq","tag-payment-methods"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116318876663501936","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43156\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}