ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Wednesday lauded the success of the government’s MyAccount initiative that has enabled more than half a million civil servants and pensioners in the Region to receive their entitlements digitally, promising increased access to banking services in the coming years.

"I’m pleased to see that more than half a million KRG civil servants and pensioners now receive their salaries digitally through banks participating in the MyAccount program," the premier said in a statement.

Since MyAccount launched in September 2023, the number of residents in the Region with bank accounts has increased from 5 percent to 15 percent, the statement continued.

Barzani asserted that the KRG "remains on track to increase financial inclusion across the Kurdistan Region to more than 50% by the end of 2028."

The project has encouraged banks to “expand their retail business, increase branches and ATM networks and improve customer service,” Barzani noted, adding that it has increased the transparency of the disbursement process.

"To date, more than $3 billion has moved through the participating banks, creating new jobs in the financial services sector and allowing credit to emerge. Access to credit is vital for growing the economy, [small and medium-sized enterprises] and startups," the premier's statement continued.

MyAccount has so far registered over 900,000 beneficiaries and issued more than 585,000 banking cards. Over 580 ATM machines have been installed across the Kurdistan Region, allowing civil servants easy access to withdraw their salaries.

In its endeavor to advance the Kurdistan Region towards a cashless economy, the KRG initiated the digitization of the payroll system for over one million public sector beneficiaries through the MyAccount initiative.

The initiative aims to modernize the method by which civil servants receive their salaries, enhancing financial stability and granting beneficiaries access to a diverse array of financial services, including savings accounts.