Ahead of the May 19 Iranian elections is heating up, candidates are looking to bring the country up to date – PB/TK
Iran Opens Door To Financial Tech Before Presidential Election – BY
The Iranian presidential elections are heating up in the weeks leading up to Election Day, May 19, and Iran’s archaic economy is widely seen as the hot topic poised to sway Iranian voters. Incumbent President Hassan Rouhani’s administration has been pushing financial reform in a move to regain public confidence in his economic prowess.
“The economy has become a really big issue in this election, even more than in past years,” Arang Keshavarzian, an Iranian-born professor of Middle Eastern studies at New York University, told International Business Times.
The Central Bank of Iran recently launched a mobile payment system, allowing people to make purchases with their smartphones, on the heels of a government-sponsored financial tech conference, FINEX 2017 in April. After decades of relative economic isolation, Iran is opening its doors to financial innovation. But will the pull of a new Middle Eastern fintech hub be enough to overcome international political stigmas?
“The Iranian banking system, in part thanks to the sanctions, has really fallen behind the times,” Keshavarzian said. Rouhani ran his last campaign on the promise of revitalizing Iran’s economy and attracting international investment in human capital, not just Iran’s oil sector. Although inflation drastically declined under Rouhani’s leadership, the opposition party still claims the president failed to deliver.
Continue to ibtimes.com article: http://www.ibtimes.com/iran-opens-door-financial-tech-presidential-election-2537159
