Central Bank of Iran

The Central Bank of Iran (CBI), formally the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran, is Iran's monetary authority and the principal institution responsible for the country's currency, banking system, reserves, and payment infrastructure. It was established in August 1960 under Iran's Monetary and Banking Law, taking over central-banking responsibilities that had previously been performed by Bank Melli Iran. Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, it adopted its current Islamic Republic designation, and Iran's banking system was subsequently reorganized around Islamic banking principles that prohibit conventional interest payments and receipts. The bank has the exclusive authority to issue Iranian banknotes and coins. Its statutory objectives include maintaining the value of the national currency, supporting balance-of-payments equilibrium, facilitating trade-related financial transactions, and contributing to economic growth. It also supervises banks and credit institutions, regulates foreign-exchange and gold transactions, manages aspects of domestic-currency flows, and acts as banker and financial agent for the Iranian government. In addition, it serves as custodian of Iran's foreign-exchange and gold reserves and the National Jewels. The bank represents Iran in international monetary institutions and has participated in payment arrangements with foreign counterparties. The CBI operates within a state-directed financial system in which monetary policy is closely connected to government fiscal policy, oil revenues, sanctions, administered credit conditions, and exchange-rate management. The Money and Credit Council is the main banking-policy body outside the bank itself and reviews major monetary and credit policies. The CBI's tools include reserve requirements, credit ceilings, banking regulations, deposit facilities, participation papers, and administration of banking profit rates. Its policy environment has been marked by persistent inflation, rapid liquidity growth, pressure on the rial, and periodic foreign-exchange shortages. Analysts and Iranian policy institutions have repeatedly debated whether the bank has sufficient operational independence to control inflation when public borrowing and government spending place pressure on the banking system. The bank is also a central operator of Iran's domestic financial infrastructure. It developed and oversees systems including SATNA, a real-time gross settlement platform for rial transactions; PAYA, an automated clearing-house system; TABA, an electronic securities-settlement infrastructure; Shetab, the interbank information-transfer and card-switching network; and Shaparak, the centralized electronic card-payment network. These systems support domestic transfers, card payments, settlement, and electronic commerce in an economy that remains substantially cash-oriented and is largely separated from major international payment networks by sanctions. In the 2020s, the CBI has faced intensified operational and geopolitical challenges. Iran's banking sector has been subject to extensive international sanctions, and the bank has worked with domestic and foreign counterparts on alternative payment arrangements, including mechanisms intended to reduce reliance on SWIFT. The institution was among Iranian financial organizations reportedly affected by the August 2024 IRLeaks cyberattack. In December 2023, the bank and the Economy Ministry directed the integration of the financially distressed Nour Credit Institution into Bank Melli Iran. The bank's leadership and policy role also became more prominent during the severe currency and inflation pressures of 2025. The CBI remains a state institution rather than a listed commercial bank, and its principal public-facing role is the administration of Iran's monetary and financial system rather than the sale of consumer financial products.

The Central Bank of Iran was created in August 1960 through the reorganization of central-banking functions previously exercised by Bank Melli Iran. Its legal mandate came from the Monetary and Banking Law, which defined the institution's responsibilities for currency issuance, monetary administration, banking supervision, foreign-exchange regulation, and government banking. The CBI was designed not as a commercial bank competing for deposits and loans, but as the institution responsible for the stability and administration of Iran's financial system. The 1979 Iranian Revolution changed the institutional and legal context in which the bank operated. It was renamed the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the banking system was progressively brought into line with Islamic principles. In 1983, legislation formally prohibited conventional interest in banking transactions and established an Islamic framework based on permitted profit and financing arrangements. The CBI consequently became responsible for applying monetary and regulatory policy through a system in which administered banking profit rates, credit allocation, reserve rules, and government direction were particularly important. The bank's policy responsibilities have long been complicated by the structure of Iran's economy. Oil revenues, public-sector borrowing, government-directed lending, sanctions, and exchange-rate restrictions have affected the supply of money and the value of the rial. Iran experienced persistent double-digit inflation over extended periods, while rapid liquidity growth and government demands on banks limited the effectiveness of conventional monetary targeting. The Money and Credit Council became the principal policy forum for approving major monetary and credit measures. Debate over central-bank independence has continued, with critics arguing that the CBI has had limited ability to offset fiscal expansion or resist politically determined lending and interest-rate decisions. The CBI has also built much of the infrastructure required for a modern domestic payment system. During the 2000s and 2010s, it supported the spread of local debit cards, electronic clearing, interbank transfers, automated settlement, and centralized point-of-sale processing. SATNA became the main real-time gross settlement mechanism for banks, while PAYA provided automated clearing functions. TABA supported electronic settlement of securities and government or central-bank participation papers. Shetab connected domestic banks and card services, and Shaparak centralized and organized electronic point-of-sale payments. These systems allowed Iran to expand domestic electronic commerce despite limited access to international card networks. International sanctions have been a defining feature of the bank's modern history. Restrictions on Iran's banking sector and exclusion from much of the international financial system constrained correspondent banking, foreign-exchange access, trade settlement, and reserve management. The CBI has therefore participated in domestic and bilateral arrangements intended to preserve trade and payment channels. After sanctions disrupted conventional international finance, Iranian and Russian officials also announced mechanisms intended to permit banking connectivity without relying wholly on SWIFT. Institutional stress became particularly visible in the 2020s. The CBI was reportedly among the Iranian banks affected by the August 2024 IRLeaks cyberattack, which targeted a large portion of the country's banking sector. In December 2023, the CBI and the Economy Ministry ordered the merger of Nour Credit Institution into Bank Melli Iran after financial difficulties and reported liabilities. Leadership changes also occurred during a period of severe currency depreciation and inflation. Mohammad-Reza Farzin became governor in December 2022 and was reported as having been replaced by Abdolnasser Hemmati in 2025. The bank continues to combine the conventional functions of a central bank with extensive state-directed regulatory, payment, reserve, and foreign-exchange responsibilities.

1. 2025Leadership change during currency crisis

   Abdolnasser Hemmati was reported as governor after Mohammad-Reza Farzin, during an acute period of rial depreciation and monetary instability.

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2. 2024Banking-sector cyberattack

   IRLeaks reportedly attacked the CBI and numerous other Iranian banks, creating a major operational and data-security incident.

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3. 2023Nour Credit Institution ordered into Bank Melli

   The CBI and Economy Ministry ordered the merger of Nour Credit Institution into Bank Melli Iran in response to financial distress.

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4. 2022Farzin appointed governor

   Mohammad-Reza Farzin became governor on 29 December 2022.

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5. 2011New electronic settlement and clearing systems launched

   TABA and PAYA were introduced to support electronic securities settlement and automated clearing of payment orders.

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6. 2005Electronic-money infrastructure program

   The government directed the CBI and Iranian banks to develop the regulatory, technical, and software infrastructure needed for nationwide electronic money and payments.

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7. 1983Islamic banking framework introduced

   Iranian banking law was restructured to prohibit conventional interest and require banking activity to follow Islamic principles.

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8. 1979Institution renamed after the Iranian Revolution

   The institution adopted the name Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran as Iran's political and economic system was reorganized.

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9. 1960Central Bank established

   Iran established the Central Bank under the Monetary and Banking Law, transferring central-banking responsibilities from Bank Melli Iran.

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Iran's sovereign monetary authority and central financial-system regulator

• Iranian rial banknotes and coinsCurrency issuance1960

  The CBI holds Iran's exclusive authority to issue banknotes and coins. Currency issuance is a core sovereign function, linked to management of the rial, monetary aggregates, public confidence, and the broader exchange-rate regime.

• SATNAPayment infrastructure

  SATNA is Iran's real-time gross settlement system and serves as a principal mechanism for settling interbank rial transactions. It supports final, high-value transfers between participating financial institutions and forms part of the country's core banking infrastructure.

• ShetabCard and interbank network

  Shetab is Iran's interbank information-transfer and card-switching network. It enables domestic banks and payment channels to interoperate and has helped make local debit-card use practical despite the limited availability of international card networks.

• ShaparakElectronic payments2011

  Shaparak is the centralized Iranian electronic card-payment network associated with point-of-sale processing and oversight. It was developed to organize domestic payment terminals and improve the governance and interoperability of electronic commerce.

• PAYAAutomated clearing2011

  PAYA is an automated clearing-house system for processing individual and multiple payment instructions. It complements real-time settlement by handling recurring and batch-style domestic payment orders.

• TABASecurities settlement2011

  TABA provides electronic infrastructure for the placement and settlement of securities, including government instruments and central-bank participation papers. It forms part of Iran's effort to digitize domestic financial-market operations.

• 2023Merger of Nour Credit Institution into Bank Melli IranM&A

  Nour Credit Institution was reported to be financially distressed and burdened by substantial liabilities. The CBI and Iran's Economy Ministry intervened within the state banking system.

  What changed. The authorities ordered Nour Credit Institution to be merged into government-owned Bank Melli Iran.

  Aftermath. The measure transferred the institution's customers and obligations into a major state bank and represented a regulatory response to instability in a non-bank credit institution.

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• 2011Expansion of electronic payment and settlement infrastructureStrategy

  Iran needed domestic systems for interbank transfers, securities settlement, clearing, and card payments, particularly because international payment access was constrained.

  What changed. The CBI launched or supported SATNA, PAYA, TABA, Shaparak, and related interbank and card-network initiatives.

  Aftermath. Domestic electronic payments and card usage expanded, although Iran remained substantially cash-based and largely disconnected from major international card networks.

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• 2025Israeli terrorist designationControversy

  Israel designated the CBI and several Iranian financial entities as terrorist organizations in June 2025, alleging that they supported the financing of Iran-aligned militant groups. This is an Israeli governmental designation and is not presented here as an uncontested international legal finding.

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• 2024IRLeaks cyberattack on the Iranian banking sectorControversy

  IRLeaks reportedly attacked the Central Bank and many other Iranian banks in August 2024. Reporting described the incident as one of Iran's most serious banking-sector cyberattacks and stated that the government paid a ransom connected with protecting or recovering customer data.

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• 2025Abdolnasser Hemmati returned as Central Bank governor

  Abdolnasser Hemmati was identified as governor of the CBI after Mohammad-Reza Farzin's tenure, amid acute currency depreciation and monetary instability.

  Leadership changeOther
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• 2023Central Bank and Economy Ministry ordered Nour Credit Institution merger

  The CBI and Iran's Economy Ministry ordered the financially distressed Nour Credit Institution to be merged into Bank Melli Iran. The institution was reported to have substantial rial liabilities and approximately 400,000 customers.

  M&ARegulation
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• 2022Mohammad-Reza Farzin appointed governor of the Central Bank of Iran

  Mohammad-Reza Farzin became governor of the CBI on 29 December 2022, taking responsibility for monetary and exchange-rate policy during sustained inflation and pressure on the rial.

  Leadership change
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1. Central Bank of Iran
2. Central Bank of Iran official website