[7] The bank's primary objective was to facilitate government's financial transactions and to print and distribute the Iranian currency (rial and toman).

[21] Seven economists with at least 15 years of work experience were to become members of the general assembly according to a new law proposed by the Majlis in 2010, thus moving this body from being state-dominated to one where the private sector has greater say in the decision-making process.

[22][23] Then President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad criticized this proposal and said that it is important for the Central Bank of Iran not to fall under private control "because it would not benefit the Iranian people" over the long run.

[citation needed] The President of Iran proposes a person as the governor of CBI, who must be verified by the general assembly and appointed by a presidential decree.

Examples are: Sharia-compliant assets has reached about $400 billion throughout the world, according to Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, and the potential market is $4 trillion.

[33] Critics believe that the Iranian Interest-Free banking law has simply created the context for legitimizing usury or riba.

High value collateral items such as real estate, commercial paper, bank guarantees and machinery eliminate any risk of loss.

In case of defaults or bankruptcies, the principal amount, the expected interest and the late fees are collected through possession and or sale of secured collaterals.

While this plan has not yet fully materialized, local debit cards are now commonplace and have removed the main obstacle to the growth of e-commerce (in the national scale) as well as the full roll out of e-government initiatives.

[35] Following international sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine which blocked Russia from using SWIFT, Mohsen Karimi, who is the international deputy governor at the Central Bank of Iran, and his Russian counterpart Vladislav Gridchin, who is a representative of the Central Bank of Russia, announced that both nations developed ways to bypass SWIFT.

[42] The CBI limits fintechs' role in Iran's financial sector by allowing them to operate as long as they are not involved in money creation, currency exchange, offering payment tools (like cards) and attracting deposits.

[43] As of January 21, 2010, account holders will no longer be allowed to withdraw more than $15,000 from Iranian banks but they can still write checks for larger amounts.

[46] Some wealthier people have debit cards, but MasterCard or Visa are no longer available in Iran, and few foreign banks are active there because of international sanctions.

[48] In 2016, Iran introduced its own domestic credit card system based on Sukuk principles and reported talks with MasterCard (and other international payment operators) for a re-entry.

[49] Many Iranian businesses and individuals also rely on hawala, an informal trust-based money transfer system that exists in the Middle East and other Muslim countries.

In 2008, the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Watchdog praised the Islamic Republic's crackdown on money laundering.

[citation needed] However, in 2010, FATF, named Ecuador and Iran on a list of states that it says are failing to comply with international regulations against money laundering and financing terrorism.

[citation needed] Despite president Hassan Rouhani showing interest in FATF, there has been a massive disagreements by hardliners related to supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

[53] In October 2010, Iran's gold reserves hit "record high" as the Central Bank took "preventive measures" to avoid a possible asset freeze by Western countries.

)[citation needed] In January 2012, the head of Tehran's Chamber of Commerce reported that Iran had 907 tons of gold, purchased at an average of $600 per ounce and worth $54 billion at the current price.

[61] In 2014, reports from the Central Bank put its gold stores at 90 tons only, the rest possibly used in barter trade following sanctions.

The Central Bank assesses the inflation rate with the use of the prices of 395 goods and services in Iran's urban areas.

The rapid growth of money supply came from high demands for borrowing capital at the rate of 12% the banks offer, imposed by the Government to make credit accessible to average Iranians and small entrepreneurs.

As of August 2006, the World Bank has financed 48 development projects in the country for a total original commitment of US$3,413 million.

These meetings are usually held once a year in Washington, D.C.[78] The US Treasury Department has also stepped up its attempt to restrict financing of foreign investment and trade with Iran.

[89] The Central Bank possesses limited foreign cash reserves due to the international sanctions and problems in the transfer of funds in and out of country.

In 2012, The U.S. unilaterally expanded sanctions, which cut off from the US financial system foreign firms that do business with the central bank.

[91][92] The CBI has been blacklisted by the U.S. government due to the bank's involvement in the Iranian nuclear program and it has been blocked from using SWIFT since March 2012 as a consequence.