Tehran, Iran – Decades of international sanctions have severely restricted Iran’s access to the global financial system, making cross-border payments difficult for individuals and businesses alike. The sanctions have only increased with the current US-Israeli war on Iran.
Unable to rely on conventional banking for international transactions, many Iranians have turned to alternative channels to pay for goods and services abroad.
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And while each workaround channel offers a way to navigate some of the restrictions, it comes with its own costs and risks, often falling short of the security, reliability and efficiency of a functioning international banking system.
One alternative financial channel is relying on networks of currency exchangers that operate across borders, an informal system that matches those who need local currency in Iran with those who need foreign currency abroad. By balancing these opposing needs, transactions can be settled without money necessarily moving directly between Iranian and foreign bank accounts.
There are other similar methods.
Intermediary firms offer services comparable to currency exchange traders. Typically, a customer pays the intermediary in local currency in Iran, while the firm or an overseas partner arranges payment to the foreign supplier in a convertible currency, using funds held abroad.
Using currency traders or intermediary firms can help bridge gaps in international banking access, but both often involve additional fees, exchange-rate costs, delays and greater complexity.
Other Iranians don’t deal with companies, but resort to private arrangements with individuals, including people they do not know personally, to transfer money across borders. Those deals may offer a practical solution when formal channels are unavailable, but they rely heavily on trust rather than enforceable guarantees.
“The transaction involves strangers having to trust one another to conduct a deal without any legal documentation or proof,” said Reza, an Iranian IT manager in Germany, who did not wish to give his full name. “It relies entirely on trust, and either party can back out at any time, leaving the others out of pocket.”
The methods used – whether through companies or individuals – are informal and not the most secure. “We have to use informal exchange and remittance systems for international trade, which carries risks such as lost funds, fraud and high transfer costs,” explained Ashkan Bahrami, an Iranian trade expert.
These networks are also vulnerable to geopolitical shocks. Some operating through Gulf countries have been disrupted by the war, adding another layer of uncertainty for businesses and individuals dependent on them.
The crypto route
Cryptocurrency has offered another route, enabling users to transfer wealth without relying on conventional banks. But even these digital assets have not provided a fully reliable escape from sanctions. Earlier this year, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned several major Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges, including Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex.
Alireza Yaghoubi, chairman of Iran’s FinTech Association board, warned that crypto transactions are traceable, “and very bad things can happen, such as the sanctions imposed on multiple Iranian wallets, whether they belonged to individuals, the Central Bank, or other entities”.
The possibility of sanctions, combined with periodic internet disruptions, makes cryptocurrency an uncertain option.
Import delays
For businesses importing physical goods, the challenges extend beyond payment itself. War-related disruptions and restrictions, particularly after the US naval blockade on Iran, have complicated transportation, lengthened delivery times, and increased uncertainty over when shipments will arrive.
Arghavan Ghazanfari, CEO of Aron Trading Group, described the scale of the disruption facing importers using the port of Shanghai in China, a major gateway for goods shipped to Iran.
“Transit time used to be 26 days. But when it stretches nowadays to 102 or even 120 days, customers are bound to reconsider importing,” Ghazanfari said. “Unfortunately, the main problem now is that our supply routes are gradually being cut off.”
And even when Iranians find a way to make payments abroad – and are willing to accept the delays in receiving their goods – another problem remains: whether they can afford what they are trying to buy.
The Iranian rial’s sustained depreciation has sharply eroded purchasing power. Against the US dollar, Iran’s currency has lost more than 10 percent of its value over the past month, more than 55 percent over the past year and almost 90 percent over the past five years.
And there is little certainty that the pressure will ease anytime soon.
With the prospect of another escalation in the conflict looming over Iran and uncertainty clouding the country’s economic outlook, the question for many Iranians is not simply how to move money across borders. It is how long they can keep navigating an increasingly restrictive financial system, and what it will cost them to do so.
