SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region — The Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) initiated the long-awaited process of digitalizing salary payments for civil servants in the Kurdistan Region on Wednesday, as stated by Aziz Ahmad, the Deputy Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s Office.
“We received the first registrations for the Trade Bank of Iraq today,” Ahmad said on X.
The spokesperson for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Peshawa Hawramani, informed reporters that the Prime Minister of the KRG has instructed all ministries to collaborate with the Trade Bank of Iraq to share information regarding civil servants. This initiative is aimed at digitalizing the salary payments for public employees of the KRG.
In response to the ruling of the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court and the directives from Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, the Trade Bank of Iraq has expressed its readiness to facilitate the payments of KRG civil servants’ salaries through the bank.
On Wednesday, following its meeting, the KRG announced in a statement that the Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) would participate in the digitalization process of salary payments via the KRG-led My Account project.
“TBI has joined the My Account initiative, bringing the total number of participating banks to seven. Civil servants are now able to freely choose their preferred bank without any obligations,” reads the KRG statement.
The salary disbursements for civil servants in the Kurdistan Region have faced numerous interruptions over the past decade. Public employees have endured instances of unpaid wages, reductions, and compulsory savings by the government due to prolonged financial disputes between the Iraqi Federal government and the KRG.
In February, the Iraqi Federal Court ruled that salary disbursements for the KRG ought to be distinct from Erbil-Baghdad conflicts, stipulating that civil servants must be registered with Federal banks to receive their monthly wages.
