A Baghdad-based company, International Smart Card, now helps 7m Iraqis receive welfare benefits or public sector salaries electronically. A massive shift in a country where only 23% of Iraqis aged 15 and over hold an account with a financial institution.
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Iraq’s financial inclusion drive boosted by homegrown fintech
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“From day one we realised the traditional chip-and-pin form of payment was not suitable” because of problems with identity fraud in Iraq, explains Mr Abdul Hadi, an architect by training. Biometric data taken when an individual enrols for the card include iris scans and facial recognition — a feature that Mr Abdul Hadi says compensates for Iraq’s weak paper document system. For people who struggle to make it to bank branches due to illness or disability, ISC developed a network of local agents to deliver benefit payments. The customer provides a finger scan and a pin number to access and confirm receipt of the payment.
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