Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — In June of this year, an electronic survey was conducted among the population of Uzbekistan, focusing on the organization of cash circulation and transactions using cash. A total of 14,259 respondents took part in the survey, according to the Central Bank of Uzbekistan.

The most active participation came from residents of Navoi region and Tashkent city, while interest in the survey was lower in Samarkand, Kashkadarya, and Surkhandarya regions. The majority of respondents were public sector employees (52%), followed by representatives of the private sector (19%) and staff of budgetary organizations (17%).

The results showed that 15% of the population make their everyday payments mainly in cash, 33% use bank cards, and 52% use both methods. The highest proportion of those preferring cash was recorded in Andijan, Jizzakh, Namangan, Navoi, and Samarkand regions.

Regarding the size of individual cash purchases, 47% reported spending between 100,000 and 500,000 soums, 35% up to 100,000 soums, 12% between 500,000 and 1 million soums, and only 6% reported spending over 1 million soums in cash.

As for the reasons for using cash, 56% of respondents cited shopping at farmers' markets, 17% said it was a quick and convenient way to control expenses, 13% believed prices were lower when paying in cash, 7% said sellers required cash payments, and another 7% pointed to the absence or malfunction of POS terminals. The latter issue was most frequently noted in Tashkent.

Respondents also expressed high demand for banknotes in denominations of 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, and 100,000 soums. There was particularly high demand for the 10,000-soum note in the Republic of Karakalpakstan and for the 20,000-soum note in Andijan region.

Regarding ATM preferences, 25% of respondents said they would like to see more 50,000-soum banknotes available in ATMs, 22% preferred 100,000 soums, 16% preferred 10,000 soums, and 14% preferred 20,000 soums.

When verifying the authenticity of banknotes, 31% pay attention to the security thread, 28% to tactile features, 26% to color-shifting images, and only 15% to watermarks.

The survey also revealed low demand for small denominations such as coins, 2,000- and 5,000-soum banknotes: 41% considered the need for them to be low, 31% said there was no need at all, while 28% rated the need as high.

The issue of receiving change in shops remains relevant: 65% of respondents said they always receive change, 17% said they sometimes receive small goods instead, 14% said they always receive change in goods, and 4% said they do not receive change at all due to the lack of small denominations.

A majority of respondents (87%) receive their salary via bank cards. Another 7% receive part of their income in cash, and 6% receive their entire salary in cash.

The frequency of cash withdrawals from cards varies: 42% withdraw once or twice a month, 35% three to four times, and 23% five or more times. At the same time, 62% reported no problems with ATMs, 18% noted minor issues, and 20% complained of frequent cash shortages, device malfunctions, or the unavailability of desired denominations.

Opinions were divided on where people store their savings: 23% keep money in cash, another 23% on bank cards, 20% in savings accounts, while 34% reported having no savings at all.

Savings are accumulated in various ways: 36% deposit cash in person at the bank, 29% transfer funds from their cards, and 35% use mobile applications.

As for awareness of online deposit options, 49% said they were aware of and use them, 37% were aware but do not use them, 10% were completely unaware, and 4% knew about them but did not know how to open deposits via mobile apps.

Utility bill payments have largely gone digital — 88% of the population now pay them through mobile applications.