CBI Favors IT Level Playing Field

The Central Bank of Iran is ready to provide a competitive environment when it comes to banks’ information technology, CBI’s governor announced at the inauguration ceremony for CBI’s newly-appointed deputy for IT Department on Tuesday.

“CBI endeavors to promote efficiency, reduce costs and provide better services to create a competitive environment,” Valiollah Seif was also quoted as saying by CBI’s official website.

Pointing to the current lack of competition in the market, Seif said, “Data security is not being taken into consideration [by private firms] at present.”

The official referred to CBI’s efforts to present new IT models in the banking sector, saying the regulator’s presence in the market is temporary.

“CBI intends to cede affairs to the private sector,” he said, adding that this would allow banks to receive better services due to increased competition.

In Tuesday’s meeting, the CBI governor appointed Nasser Hakimi deputy for information technology at CBI.

 Hakimi noted that the Central Bank of Iran created the IT infrastructure in the 2000s and gave them to the banks, many of which were used to enforce CBI’s policies.

The banks were also able to use CBI infrastructure to provide their services without spending money on infrastructure development.

“At present, many of our payment systems have reached a level of maturity, but on the other hand, these systems are time-bound and need to be updated. For example, the expansion of mobile payments and Open Banking in line with market demand and the need for new actors is among developments needed in this regard,” Hakimi said.