Page 48 - IRANRptSep22

Iranian banks close extraterritorial access
obstacles to the use of bank payment cards issued in Russia within Iran and the use of Iranian payment cards in Russia as well as other issues including smoothing paths to joint investments to be made by Tehran with Moscow. Novak said that the development of economic and investment ties between Russia—the world’s most sanctioned country—and Iran—the second most sanctioned country—was a priority.
In May, Novak and Iranian Petroleum Minister Javad Owji signed three major memoranda of understanding (MoU) on expanding energy and banking ties. The two officials serve as co-chairs of the Iran-Russia economic and trade cooperation commission.
The official IRNA news agency quoted Owji in May as saying that Iran and Russia had agreed to use national currencies in the settlement of trade and energy payments.
Novak added in comments quoted by Russia’s official Tass news agency that Moscow and Tehran had agreed to “move to the highest possible level of mutual settlements in national currencies”.
Some banking systems inside Iran have disconnected users accessing apps and online banking from abroad, Digiato reported on July 4.
The push to digital banking has been ongoing in the Islamic Republic over the past decade, with certain private banks leading the app and mobile banking charge. The Iranian government has also pushed banks to move away from brick and mortar setups to reduce overheads and offload their property portfolios.
Banks, including Pasargad, have without notice disconnected those with a non-Iran IP addresses from accessing banking services.
The central bank has not yet given an official response to this issue, but the step is believed to have been taken for security and to prevent cyber attacks from hostile countries.
The Pasargad Bank decision has caused additional problems for Iranians during US-led sanctions and involved Iranians abroad as well.
Iranian banks are disconnected from global banking messaging systems, including Swift based in Belgium. To transfer money out of the country, nationals would need to transfer funds locally using the Hawala system, and be given another amount abroad from a third party.
The Hawala form of money transfer is largely barred by international banks as it is flagged for anti-money laundering (AML) reasons.
8.3 Stock market
Iranian stock market investors hit by losses hold protest outside parliament
A group of Iranian shareholders who have suffered losses in recent months on January 20 mounted a protest outside Tehran’s parliament building, claiming that government policies led to a decline in stock prices, Radio Farda reported.
Some of the protesters reportedly chanted slogans against Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, calling him a liar, according to amateur videos posted online. There have been several similar protests held by stock market investors in Iran in recent months. At each demonstration, the protesters have pointed to government policies as responsible for losses. The Raisi administration has promised to deal with the market swings.
48 IRAN Country Report September 2022 www.intellinews.com