As I mentioned before, foreign investors are now able to open up dinar bank accounts in Iraq. One of the most popular banks among the investors is the Warka Bank. I will use Warka bank as an example to show you exactly how to open dinar bank accounts in Iraq.
Here are the step-by-step instructions on how to open a savings account in dinars with Al Warka Investment Bank in Iraq.
First you will need to have electronic copies of the following items/documents which you can email to the bank in order to ask them to open your accounts in Iraq:
1 - a copy of your passport or drivers license with a proof of your address
2 - a passport size photograph
3 - a letter with your signature, authorising Warka Bank to exchange USD to dinars (IQD). See below a template you can use.
Template of authorisation letter:
I (your name) authorise Al-Warka Investment Bank to draw from my dollar savings account which I hold with Warka Bank for Investment and Finance and exchange the Dollar into Iraqi Dinar according to the price fixed by the Central Bank of Iraq at that day, and then deposit it in my Iraqi Dinar account at the said bank.
(Your name)
(Your signature)
This letter needs to be printed and signed by you. Then you need to scan it, save it normally as jpg and email it to the bank together with the other 2 documents mentioned above which also need to be scanned and saved normally as jpg files.
After your documents are scanned you will attach them in an email which you will send to Warka bank. The body of the email is as follows:
Dear Warka Bank,
Please open a USD and IQD savings account with Warka Bank on my behalf. Attached are my passport/drivers license, my photograph and the required Authorisation letter.
Thank you.
(your name)
Your message will then be sent to the accounts department at Warka and the email address you need to use is:
c.accounts@warkainvestmentbank.com
After the bank receives your request, they will assign an account manager for you and he/she will send you your new account numbers and details on how you can wire money to them. Even though Warka bank is swamped with such inquiries you will find that their respose is relatively quick and the service attentive and polite.
In the past couple of months Warka bank has developed an on-line banking service which allows you to check your statements on-line and communicate easily with your bank manager about your accounts in Iraq and even discuss other available services such as credit cards, buying iraqi stocks, e.t.c.
Below you can find the link to Warka's website. Check it out to find more details on different types of bank accounts in Iraq and to see if this particular bank suits your needs.
Please note that this website has no affiliation with Warka Bank. There are a number of other banks in Iraq and outside of Iraq listed here for your own convenience. Making bank accounts in Iraq could be risky and to understand some of those risks you should read the section on Dinar Bank Accounts in this website. Click on the link below to access this information.
