Iran’s Central Bank Allows Issue of Credit Cards for First Time

The Central Bank of Iran allowed the country’s financial institutions to issue credit cards for the first time in Iran’s history, however the cards are unlikely to be issued soon, local ISNA news agency reported, citing the Central Bank head, Valiollah Seif.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to ISNA, the cards will be issued with the credit limits of $3,000, $10,000 and $15,000. It will be possible to use them both for purchases in stores and online.

"It would be wrong to think that these cards will be quickly adopted by the banking network," the agency quoted Seif as saying.

The credit cards are set to be issued in the number depending on applications received by the banks.

The Central Bank’s decision comes after in January, the European Union, the United Nations, and partially the United States lifted their sanctions against the Islamic republic after the International Atomic Energy Agency verified Tehran’s compliance with a nuclear agreement reached in July 2015. The lifting of the sanctions cleared the way for Iran to bolster its oil production and economy.