Arab Monetary Fund: The CBI's Plans Have Enhanced Financial Stability And We Have Effective Joint Cooperation
Baghdad / NINA /- The Arab Monetary Fund praised the plans of the Central Bank of Iraq to enhance economic and financial stability.
The Director General of the Arab Monetary Fund, Fahd bin Mohammed Al-Turki, said during the activities of the "Electronic Payment Conference towards Financial Stability in Iraq", which was launched today, Saturday, in the capital, Baghdad, that "digital transformation is an important factor for the growth of the banking sector, and with the increase in digitalization, the use of artificial intelligence that contributes to uncovering banking fraud emerges."
He saw that "the various regulatory capabilities played a fundamental role in creating the digital regulatory environment to motivate banks and financial institutions to employ modern technologies towards digital transformation and banking services and enhance their efficiency and reduce risks, including cybercrimes."
He added that "the regulating legislation, electronic financial transfers, digital financial consumer protection and anti-money laundering requirements must achieve a balance between stimulating digital transformation on the one hand and managing and reducing risks on the other hand," indicating that "the good design of payment systems and ensuring environmental control between them and their interconnection with other systems such as credit systems would enhance the efficiency of digital transformation and economic growth opportunities."
Turki stressed that "digital transformation is a key factor in reshaping the banking sector in the Arab region, and governments and central banks can play a role in supporting digital transformation by creating digital regulation. This is evident from investing in digital infrastructure and addressing cybersecurity challenges, which helps create an environment that promotes innovation and growth in the banking sector." The Director General of the Arab Fund praised the announcement by the Central Bank of Iraq to work on many of these aspects, which makes the existence of a tight regulatory framework of paramount importance to enhance digital innovation, as governments should focus on equal opportunities and ensure that regulations are consistent to reduce risks. Investing in digital infrastructure would also stimulate digital banking services that help enhance access to banking services and products for the population using the financial system and those not using the financial system.
“There is still a digital gap between developing and developed countries, which limits the spread of digital payments in some regions, in addition to reliance on technology without creating alternative systems, which makes digital payments vulnerable to disruption in the event of any technical problems,” he added, noting the Central Bank Governor’s talk about investing in infrastructure represented by the extensive use of mobile phones, especially in remote areas, and developing agency networks that meet the need for individuals to conduct withdrawal and deposit operations at the local and regional levels, distributing the scope of digital identity, including electronic fingerprint systems, and expanding open application program interfaces that are available to the public so that developers can access software that represents property rights so that new applications can communicate and interact with each other.” / End
