For years, Iraq’s dollar-based card economy grew quietly and dangerously beneath the radar of global financial watchdogs. Enabled by partnerships with Visa and Mastercard, local banks and payment providers issued millions of prepaid and debit cards that were exploited by powerful militias to extract dollars from foreign ATMs, often in
Plastic loopholes – how Visa and Mastercard missed Iraq’s dollar drain
Visa and Mastercard-linked debit cards in Iraq were exploited for years by militias and fraud networks to move billions in US dollars abroad.