Which Banks Accept the Iraqi Dinar?
According to a May 9, 2014, report from Huntsville, Ala., WHNT News, it is possible that one or more small U.S. banks trade in Iraqi dinars, but the station was unable to locate a bank that does. Wells Fargo Bank and Bank of America state on their websites that they do not deal in the dinar, and HSBC does not include the dinar in its list of accepted global currencies.
An article in Wealth Daily quotes the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions in a warning to consumers about buying Iraqi dinars. The agency reports that the dinars can be redeemed in Iraq only; most of the established currency exchange houses and banking institutions cannot convert the dinar to US dollars. The agency warns that consumers who try to sell the dinars through exchange services are at risk of losing money. Since no exchange exists for the Iraqi dinar, dealers can charge whatever they want to sell and buy the currency.
Convincing consumers to invest in Iraqi dinars is an ongoing get-rich-quick scheme with virtually no chance of coming to fruition, according to Wealth Daily. Since 2010, when the Central Bank of Iraq announced that it was redenominating the country’s currency, profiteers have been selling Iraqi dinars to unsophisticated investors at inflated rates. They claim that the dinar is due to appreciate dramatically when the CBI revalues the currency in as little as three years. However, these claims are based on several misconceptions, including the belief that Iraq would gain by revaluation, which it would not. A weak dinar allows Iraq to make more money on its exports, which bolsters its economy and puts more cash into the general fund for rebuilding the country’s infrastructure and oil fields. Wealth Daily provides a graph that illustrates the fact that the CBI has been maintaining the currency at a flat rate since 2009.
