Everyone has different sized investments in the IQD and in Warka Bank and so whether it is before or after a significant RD/RV, everyone’s need to withdraw funds via wire transfers from Warka is unique to each individual investor.
In the past, I have successfully wire transferred funds from my Warka USD account back to my stateside account 4 separate times and assisted fellow investors to do the same thing twice. Along the way I learned a few things about communicating with the Warka staff that might prove helpful to someone else who also wants to wire funds back to their home account.
The following tips presuppose that you already have an active Warka E-banking Services Subscription and password and that you know how to log onto your Warka accounts via the internet and finally that you are aware of the features available once you’ve accessed your account ~ including how to transfer funds from one account to another.
I’ve divided the information into 3 parts.
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First, for your own information here is some reverse math for a Warka Wire Transfer.
Just to make sure you have a record of how to figure out how to move the correct amount of IQD into your USD account to order to affect a transfer (hopefully in the very near future), here's one example of a process for future reference:
- $1,000 ~ net spendable amount (as an example)
- $1,000 plus $20 (your US bank fee for accepting incoming deposit) = $1,020
- $1,020 divided by 0.997 (SWIFT service takes .003 of the amount transferred) = $1,023
- $1,023 ~ amount of transfer requested in order to net $1,000
- $1,023 plus $52 (Warka's fee for affecting the transfer) = $1,075
- $1,075 ~ amount needed to move from IQD into USD account
- $1,075 plus $150 (minimum USD deposit required to already be in account) = $1,225
- $1,225 ~ total amount needed in USD account in order to transfer $1,023
- $1,075 X 1179 (Warka's in house exchange rate to transfer IQD into USD) = IQD 1,267,425
- IQD 1,267,425 ~ amount of IQD needed to transfer to add $1,075 to USD account
Note: When you transfer USD to your IQD account (either after interest is paid on your USD account or after you've transferred USD to your Warka account) the exchange rate is whatever the CBI is offering. At this time it is $1.00 buys 1166 IQD.
For example, if you wanted to send that extra $5.00 of interest earned in your USD account into your IQD account:
$5.00 X 1166 = 5830 IQD
So, Warka makes its money in currency exchange from the difference between its buy and sell rates:
IQD 1179 - IQD 1166 = 13 IQD per dollar moved/exchanged
13 IQD divided by 1166 IQD = 1.11%
1.11% of $1.00 = 1 cent per dollar moved (either way)
For future transfers use the same process and just substitute the $1,000 with whatever amount you plan to transfer.
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Once you’ve transferred the correct amount of IQD into your USD account and are ready to apply for the transfer, it would be wise to have a clear and concise form containing the instructions to the bank and all of the necessary information that Warka’s Wire Transfer Department requires to make the transfer a success.
When I first opened my account at Warka, Mohammad K Issa the Director of the International Foreign Relations Department sent me an email containing 3 pages of information about the bank and at that time Warka’s language for a request for a wire transfer was an Application for Outward Remittance. Consequently, I have used that as a title for all my wire transfer requests ever since.
The form outline below is one that I’ve used in at least 6 successful wire transfers and will continue to use in the future. I created it in MS Word (including with my own specific information) then printed it, signed and dated it, scanned it into either a pdf or a jpg file, renamed the file as: (My Six Digit Account # here) Application for Outward Remittance and then saved it to my desktop ready to attach to an email to Warka.
The form outline below is kind of a generic template suggestion that anyone could create on MS Word or some other word processing software or even on a typewriter. Of course, everyone would still have to fill in their own specific information where indicated.
Application for Outward Remittance of USD
To: Warka Bank for Investment and Finance
nasser@warka-bank-iq.com
Re: Wire Transfer of USD
I, (Your Full Account Name here), authorize Warka Bank for Investment and Finance to withdraw $00,000.00 (XXXX Thousand Dollars exactly) from my USD Savings Account #790/000000/2/2521/000 and transfer said amount to the bank indicated below as per the following instructions:
Receiving Bank Name:
Receiving Bank Branch:
Receiving Bank Branch Address:
Receiving Bank Branch Tel:
Receiving Bank Branch Code:
Federal Wire (ABA) Number:
Receiving Bank Account Name:
Receiving Bank Account Number:
Please, take all bank transfer fees from my USD Savings Account and send confirmation of this transaction to my email address:________________________________
Thank you
Best Regards,
_________________________________________ Date: _________________________
Type Your Signature Name Here
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Once you’ve transferred enough IQD into your USD account and have the Application for the transfer signed and ready to attach to an email the final step would be to actually create the email, attach the application (along with the color copy of whichever original notarized “True Copy” ID you used to open the account) and send it to the proper email addresses at Warka. Below is an outline of email information that I’ve used successfully in the past and will continue to use in the future.
Send it To: nasser@warka-bank-iq.com and swift.m@warka-bank-iq.com
With a CC to: ifrd@warka-bank-iq.com and c.services@warka-bank-iq.com
Subject: (Your Six Digit Account # here) Application for Outward Remittance of USD
The body of your email message should read something like this:
Warka Bank Wire Transfer Department
Warka Bank SWIFT Department Manager
Customer Services Department
International Foreign Relations Department
Dear Sirs:
Attached to this transmission please find a pdf copy of my signed Application for an Outward Remittance of USD and a color copy of my government issued ID ~ notarized as a “True Copy” ~ which your Compliance Department can verify.
I greatly appreciate your time in facilitating an expeditious completion to my request and I look forward to your immediate confirmation of receipt of this email.
At your earliest convenience, please confirm exactly which day your Wire Transfer Department and SWIFT Department will execute my Wire Transfer Request.
Thank you for your kind attention to my accounts. Best Regards,
(Type Your Signature Name Here)
(Type Your Six Digit Account Number Here)
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The copy of your government issued ID that you attach to this email should be the exact one that you used to open your account and your signature on your application should match it exactly ~ just for the sake of consistency and for ease of identification by the Warka staff.
Note: if you just send the email with the 2 attachments to the Wire Transfer Department at nasser@warka-bank-iq.com like the Warka website suggests, then most likely it will just be ignored. I’ve never been sure why, but that’s been my experience.
Sending it also to the SWIFT Department Manager at swift.m@warka-bank-iq.com and to Rowaida Mohammed of International Foreign Relations Customer Service at c.services@warka-bank-iq.com and to Mohammad K Issa, the Director in charge of International Foreign Relations at ifrd@warka-bank-iq.com lets everyone there know what you’re trying to do and keeps them on their toes. Besides that, it’s been my experience that Mohammad will make sure everyone else does their job. He seems to care about Warka’s reputation.
The most important thing is to have your attached application be clear and concise with all the pertinent information required.
Final Note: If you send the email with just the application, but without a copy of your ID, then it’s been my experience that the Warka staff will just wait a couple of days or even a week before contacting you to reapply including a color copy of your government issued ID that can be verified by their “Compliance Department”.
Whether that was just a delaying tactic at the time or a real security concern on their part I never really determined, but from then on I’ve always included the ID along with a reference to it in the language in the body of the email.
