Residents of Baghdad’s Green Zone who have had to keep wads of cash on hand and listen to the grumbling of Iraqi staff unhappy to be paid with wrinkled American dollars are getting some relief. The zone’s first real commercial bank is open for business: A branch of the Iraqi chain, Warka Bank, is now offering a range of services including savings, checking, Visa credit cards, ATM facilities, even online and mobile-phone banking. External wire transfers are available, at a cost of $50. Dollar savings accounts earn 4 percent a year. Certificates of deposit earn 4.5 to 5.5 percent on U.S. dollars and 12 to 14 percent on Iraqi dinars, depending on duration.

The branch is set up in a converted former residence, conveniently--or perhaps strategically--located down the street from the Karadat Maryam police station and inevitably, hidden behind a bank of high concrete barriers. “This place was in ruins and it took months to accomplish this,” says one of the managers, waving at the front office with its new computers and faux leather furniture. Asked if it had been difficult to get the venture going, another manager shrugs. “Everything in Iraq is complicated, even the weather,” he says.

The zone has had only one working bank, located in the Ministry of Defense, and many consider it hard to find. It is used mostly by ministry employees. Warka Bank, part of a chain founded in 1999 that now boasts more than 100 branches around the country, hopes to attract Iraqis, expatriates and corporate customers. The banking system is traditional commercial, not Islamic, which prohibits usury and investing in businesses considered haraam, or unlawful, such as those that sell pork or alcohol.

“This is such a relief for those of us who live and work here,” says a German businessman. “Nobody wants to have to go to Karada [in the Red Zone] or always use currency brokers to get money.”

But the managers remember well that the Iraq conflict persists, and does seep into the Green Zone despite all the safety precautions. They are negotiating with security companies to protect the facility as much as is possible. And none of the men who spoke to NEWSWEEK about the bank would allow his name to be used. “I’m really excited, but this is Baghdad,” says one manager. “I’m also a poet. Maybe you can do a story about that--and then you can use my name.”

-- Lennox Samuels