2024-01-23T09:42:22+00:00
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/ An informed government source said on Tuesday that electronic payment companies have begun issuing cards to small merchants with a financial ceiling of 100 thousand dollars per month for import purposes.
The source told Agency, “Based on the directives of Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani and in light of the discussions that took place between the government, the Central Bank of Iraq and electronic payment companies for more than two months, a mechanism for issuing electronic cards to small merchants has been approved, with a ceiling of 100 thousand dollars per month for implementation.” “Payment operations for import purposes ensure reducing demand for cash dollars by real merchants.”
He added, “The new mechanism includes payment companies submitting a request to the Central Bank to obtain approval to create this product and launch the (merchant) card.”
He pointed out that “the uses of the cards will be determined for small merchants in line with the external transfer controls issued by the Central Bank for the year 2023, provided that the ceiling for these cards is not to exceed $100,000 per month, with the possibility of raising the ceiling in the future in light of the results of the actual implementation.”
The source continued, “The cards are used for the purposes of purchasing goods and services from known suppliers according to pre-defined white lists.”
He stressed that “the company bears its duty to apply due diligence and in accordance with basic requirements, the most important of which are the main international ban lists of the United Nations, the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the European Union.”
He concluded by saying, “The money of small merchants is deposited in the branches of various Iraqi banks in Iraqi dinars.”