Today marks the soft launch of "My Account" initiative, a financial inclusion program for public sector employees, pensioners and security forces. In the coming days, we will pilot this initiative by paying salaries to nearly 850 employees of Erbil's Children and Maternity Hospital using electronic transfers to new digitally enabled bank accounts. Over the coming months, we will learn from the experience and improve the service. By June this year, we will embark on a two year journey to digitize all payments to KRG’s employees, pensioners and security forces.

“My Account” will provide a safe, transparent, and convenient way for government workers and pensioners to access their salaries through a network of ATMs that will grow to cover over 1,000 locations in the Kurdistan Region. Additionally, it will offer public sector employees access to modern banking services, such as loans, savings products, domestic and international transfers, international cash withdrawals, and online and digital payments.

I am confident that this program will modernize our banking sector, accelerate our digital transformation agenda, and grow our economy. It will also reduce our reliance on cash transactions, increasing government efficiency and transparency.

The "My Account" initiative is just one of many long-term initiatives introduced by our cabinet to digitize public services, increase citizen satisfaction, and facilitate ease of doing business in Kurdistan. We will continue to expand this program and introduce new measures to enhance digital payments.

I thank the Ministry of Finance and Economy for their continued support in launching this initiative and driving forward transformative reforms.