Uzbekistan Central Bank: cashless shift had no impact

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The introduction of mandatory cashless payments for a number of goods and services in Uzbekistan from 1 April has had no negative impact on the economy. This was stated on 29 April by Central Bank Chairman Timur Ishmetov at a press conference.

Since early April, cash payments have been restricted for alcohol and tobacco products, fuel, high-value purchases starting from 25 million soums, transport, housing, and a number of public services.

According to the regulator, the transition took place without significant disruptions. Ishmetov noted that more than 90% of transactions were already being carried out using bank cards, and the rollout of QR-based payments is built on the existing payment infrastructure.

He said that only around 4–5% of users switched to new cards, while the vast majority continued using existing cashless payment tools. He also highlighted that around 1 million people make payments at fuel stations daily, and about 900,000–920,000 of them did not experience any changes in their usual payment methods.

Commenting on possible challenges, the Central Bank chief acknowledged that the transition may have caused some inconvenience for a portion of the population, but stressed that no systemic issues were recorded. The regulator continues to work on improving the country’s payment infrastructure.

Earlier, the Central Bank reported that between 1 April and 22 April, average daily revenue at fuel stations amounted to 113.1 billion soums, with an average of 951,400 transactions per day.

According to the regulator, 92.9% of payments were made via bank cards, 4.9% via instant cards, and 2.2% through fuel cards.