Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Entrepreneurs in Uzbekistan have proposed reviewing the fees charged by banks when cash is deposited through ATMs. The issue was raised on 29 September during an open dialogue between the Central Bank and exporters.
Sherzod Kholmatov, director of Izobubble, said customers in the regions often pay for the company’s goods in cash. To transfer the funds to the company’s account, customers are advised to use an online ATM and enter the company’s taxpayer identification number. However, the bank charges a 1% commission for the transaction.
According to Kholmatov, the fee becomes significant for large payments. He cited the example of a customer who needs to transfer 200 million soums to the company. At a 1% commission, the banking fee would amount to 2 million soums.
“They tell us: ‘Who is going to pay 1%?’ I say: ‘You will pay.’ And they say: ‘Why should I pay?’” the entrepreneur said.
According to him, some customers prefer to look for alternative ways of transferring money because of the additional costs, including sending funds through taxi services.
Kholmatov proposed that the Central Bank consider reducing the commission. He said that when customers deposit the funds themselves through an online ATM, he does not believe the bank incurs significant additional costs.
“I’m not saying that this 1% should be removed completely, but logically, I don’t see any costs here,” the Izobubble director said.
Abror Mirzo Olimov, deputy chairman of the Central Bank, explained that commercial banks are independent business entities, meaning the regulator cannot set a specific commission for such transactions.
At the same time, he noted that banks take into account costs associated with servicing and renting ATMs, the delivery and collection of cash, electricity and other related expenses when setting their tariffs.
“I don’t know whether it is possible to make it free; most likely, there is no possibility of abolishing the commission. But we will submit a proposal on how it could be optimized,” the Central Bank deputy chairman said.
The issue of fees for cash deposits through ATMs may therefore be considered from the perspective of optimizing the charges, while the abolition of the fee is not currently under consideration.
