Bank a/c vs cash

[WattsforDinar]

I should be grateful if someone could explain the pros & cons of aquiring NIDs as cash vs opening an a/c (possibly at Al-Warka bank) and holding NIDs in that account.

It seems to me that having funds in an account would be better than physically holding the currency, however many here appear to prefer buying the physical cash.

Many Thanx to those who will educate me via their posts

[BRYAN]

I should be grateful if someone could explain the pros & cons of aquiring NIDs as cash vs opening an a/c (possibly at Al-Warka bank) and holding NIDs in that account.

It seems to me that having funds in an account would be better than physically holding the currency, however many here appear to prefer buying the physical cash.

Many Thanx to those who will educate me via their posts


As for me ...
I wanted an account to prevent any exchange problems ...
The bank account gave me a better exchange rate ...
I know it is allowed by the Iraq goverment and Our goverment to have an account in Iraq ..
I have cash also in my safe at my house ..
To have the both - cash in hand and an account ..makes me feel that I have the bases covered in case of any conflict of intrest .

[jayboz]

Here is info from an old thread. http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?p=8100&mode=linear This might help you out. :wave:

[Marilyn]

As for me ...
I wanted an account to prevent any exchange problems ...
The bank account gave me a better exchange rate ...
I know it is allowed by the Iraq goverment and Our goverment to have an account in Iraq ..
I have cash also in my safe at my house ..
To have the both - cash in hand and an account ..makes me feel that I have the bases covered in case of any conflict of intrest .


I did the same thing, but hold more in actual notes than I have in Warka Bank. The risk of losing the Warka funds is very high. It seems all their transactions are still on paper. If the bank goes kaboom or martial law is declared, you can just kiss it goodbye. Find a nice secure place to store your notes and just hold on for the ride...

With that said...
The main advantage to the Warka account is trading on the ISX. $500 usd can get you over 600,000 iqd to play with on the ISX. It also earns interest while sitting in the account... however, transaction times are extremely slow. Email is the only way they can do business.

Good Luck!

[JJLL]

I think any serious investor should have both cash in hand as well as an account.

The nice thing about having an account, is that you can wire your funds BACK if needed.

For example, if the dinar doesn't open for another 1-2 years and you say, "I'm done, I want to cash out" you can have your funds wired back to you. All you'll loose is the transfer fees ($40 and a few dinar:) )

As for the instability of the bank, if martial law occurs, if you have an account, or cash the value of dinar will be destroyed so either way you'd be out.

If you purchse nothing but cash, you'll be committed to the dinar until it opens.

Then again, always remember.... Cash is king.

[Okie]

My dear old departed grandmother would always tell me "a bird in hand is worth two in the bush". It makes sense to me to keep my dinar in cash. I will however take them out of Iraq.

Go Sooners!!!

[Jeffrey]

My dear old departed grandmother would always tell me "a bird in hand is worth two in the bush". It makes sense to me to keep my dinar in cash. I will however take them out of Iraq.

Go Sooners!!!

Your grandmother and my grandmother must have gone to the same schools.
I am going to take their advice on this one. I am not anti-bank or anything...but I have to ask myself if I would put money in ANY bank where communication was so poor.....the answer is NO....so I am going to stick to my guns and not put my money in a bank account that is on the other side of the world, in a war torn country, that could get blown up any day and that I can not communicate with when I need to. :rolleye03

I HOPE that it's not the case....but don't you guys think that there is a strong possibility that the "terrorists" have the capabilities to view this type of website (or any website for that matter)...therefore giving them the knowlege of where many "infadel" investors are depositing their money...thus making that institution a juicy target at some point???? Not only would they know the Bank, but also the individual that everyone is dealing with.....after all, her name is posted ALL OVER THE PLACE on this board alone. I think that the bank and the person is being VERY exposed here.

Think about it....Miss R. is the most well know Iraqi on this board. Probably the only Iraqi that most of us will ever "know".....call me paranoid it you want to....but if I were her, I would be a little nervous on my way to and from work everyday.....heck, at work for that matter.

[stephen]

I think one of the few reasons to go the Iraq Bank account route is to exploit a quick hit in the dinar if and when it opens up above say, .10cents. You could convert and wire out quickly if all goes right, although the US financial institution will look at a wire coming in from Iraq through the lens of the Patriot Act and may freeze the funds for a period of time.

Holding the physical cash may cause a delay in cashing in, as some banks may not do the transaction for a period of time after it opens. HSBC seems to be one, but they may hesitate until corporations and/or big Forex players are trading the currency, which may not opening day, but opening day + a week or so.

On balance, if you are patient, I think physical cash is the way to go. But if everything in Iraq turns out decent, the bank account should be good.

Excellent points on the exposure of this board to unsavory elements. I often have the tohought that may order could be traced to my address by someone whom I'd rather not meet in person, so I had mine shipped to a corporate address.