A proposal by lawmakers has called for the integration of bank accounts and debit cards of all Iranians, a member of the Majlis Committees and Interior Affairs Commission said.
“There are around 500 million active debit cards as we speak. This makes an average of 7 bank cards for each Iranian which is a potential risk for the country’s economic security and can create complications,” Abolfazl Aboutorabi was quoted by Tasnim News Agency as saying.
Elaborating he said, “for example, people who have been convicted [by a court of law] and their bank accounts are invalidated, those involved in money laundering, illegal aliens… can easily rent cards from individuals and abuse it.”
The official said that by integrating all accounts and cards of one person they cannot rent their debit cards to fraudsters, money mules or for any other criminal activity.
“The regulation can be extended for debit cards of minors above the age of 10 so that their cards too cannot be used for ulterior motives.”
Last month the Law Enforcement Forces (LEF) called on the Central Bank of Iran to focus on the card integration to reduce the risk of fraud and selling bank cards to money mules.
Increase in financial crime using others bank cards has become a source of concern for the LEF. In an interview with ISNA, Tehran Police Chief Brigadier General Hossein Rahimi said, "Owning multiple bank cards has increased the risk of criminality. Fraudsters easily persuade cardholders to rent their less-used debit cards for a fixed monthly payment."
He proposed integration of debit cards issued by banks in a single bank card or integration of bank cards with other smart cards like the ID card or driving license, to minimize the temptation of lending bank cards and help prevent legal hassles for cardholders.
According to the official, fraudsters and money mules make use of other people’s bank cards for illegal operations, money laundering or evading taxes. As per law, the real owners of the bank cards are legally responsible for any illegal activities.
However, the CBI says the best way to battle financial fraud is to create a strong balance between crime and punishment as a deterrent.
Mehran Moharramian, the CBI deputy for innovative technologies, says that integration of bank cards would be a highly time-consuming and complex procedure and likely create more problems.
"It must be said that the risk of selling bank card information would not be reduced by eliminating physical cards simply because fraudsters can access bank accounts electronically by using cardholders' account information," he said.
"The people must be thoroughly informed about the whole range of legal consequences of lending a bank account to others.”
CBI data show that banks issued more than 420 million cards (debit cards, credit cards, and prepaid cards) up until mid-July. Iran’s population in 85 million.
This is while, data released by Shaparak, the company in charge of Iran's domestic payment network, show an estimated 132 million bank cards were used at least once in the month to July 20 and the remaining were dormant.
