An aerial view of the new headquarters of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI). Photo: Zaha Hadid Architects
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has directed financial institutions to implement a monthly transaction limit for bank cards and to establish a maximum daily limit for purchases made at points of sale outside of Iraq.
According to the Iraqi News Agency (INA), the CBI underlined that the decision relates to point-of-sale transactions made outside Iraq, notably those that require the actual presence of the card with the merchant.
Holders of bank cards may use them for point-of-sale purchases outside Iraq up to a daily limit equivalent to $3,333 (or five million Iraqi dinars), provided that total monthly transactions do not exceed five million Iraqi dinars.
The measure replaces the previous daily limit of $333.3 (equivalent to 500,000 Iraqi dinars) specifically for this type of transaction.
The CBI emphasized that electronic payment cards operate based on the officially approved exchange rate to meet the needs of Iraqi citizens abroad.
Last week, Iraq has officially depreciated its national currency, with the baseline dropping from about 1,300 Iraqi dinars to 1,500 dinars per US dollar.
The Iraqi cabinet approved the structural adjustment, which marks a 14.5 percent decline compared to the previous official framework that had been in place since early 2023.
The forceful monetary policy shift acts as a direct fiscal stabilization mechanism in response to significant macroeconomic shocks.