ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - One million public sector employees will receive their salaries through bank cards issued under the MyAccount project, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said Tuesday, announcing the end of the Region's cash-based payroll system.
“This week, one million citizens on the KRG payroll will receive their salaries electronically through partner banks licensed by the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI)," the Kurdish Premier said in a statement, describing the MyAccount initiative as “the foundational program in our commitment to expand financial inclusion” as “it gives citizens access to credit and modern banking services, while making it easier for the government to enable electronic payments.”
MyAccount is a KRG program launched in 2023 to deposit public sector salaries directly into personal bank accounts rather than distributing them in cash, giving beneficiaries access to ATMs, bank cards, credit, and other banking services, while enabling the government to process more payments electronically.
Prime Minister Barzani's statement follows a previous directive from Erbil's finance ministry, which had set August 31 as the final deadline for public sector employees to register with one of the eight banks participating in the MyAccount project, warning that failure to register would result in the suspension of their salaries.
The shift is significant as salary banking has been a key demand from Baghdad in its financial arrangements with Erbil. The CBI has promoted salary localization - known as Tawtin - to reduce cash distribution costs, keep money within the banking system, and give public employees access to loans and electronic payments.
Under a 2025 agreement between the KRG and the federal government, a joint committee was tasked with completing the salary domiciliation process in the Kurdistan Region within three months - a move prompted by Baghdad's push to bring KRG salaries under its Tawtin system, while Erbil pressed ahead with MyAccount, which it maintained was developed in coordination with the CBI and offers broader services at lower costs.
In August, the KRG reported that more than 900,000 public sector beneficiaries had received bank cards through the program, with participating banks having installed nearly 700 ATMs across the Region.
For public sector employees in the Kurdistan Region, the change means that “the days of citizens standing in long queues outside government buildings waiting for cash handouts are over,” Prime Minister Barzani said, affirming that “MyAccount has given them greater financial independence … control of their finances and access to a growing ATM network across the Kurdistan Region.”
