EghtesadOnline: Iran’s banking sector, for a variety of reasons, has failed to keep up with the rapid pace of technological advancement in most countries since early 2000. However, lenders have resorted to some new approaches towards banking and financial technologies in their quest for not being left too far behind. But much more needs to be done.

EghtesadOnline: Iran is home to 217,138 registered cooperatives as of Aug. 6, of which 93,306 or 43% are active, according to a report by the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare's Statistics and Strategic Data Center.