Uzbekistan to Shift Housing and Vehicle Purchases to Cashless Payments

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Beginning from 1 April 2026, Uzbekistan will significantly expand the range of transactions that must be carried out exclusively in a cashless form.

The measures are outlined in a presidential decree issued on 10 December aimed at reducing the shadow economy and increasing the share of cashless payments, the Ministry of Justice reported.

Under the decree, government services, utility payments for electricity, natural gas and drinking water, purchases of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, as well as sales of oil and gas products at filling stations and payments for electric vehicle charging services, must be made only via bank cards or electronic payment systems.

Cashless payments will also become mandatory for transactions involving goods and services valued at more than 25 million soums.

All purchase and sale operations for real estate and motor vehicles of categories M, N, O and G less than ten years old — including specialized machinery — will shift entirely to non-cash payments.

All settlements between buyers and sellers will be processed through electronic data exchange between the information systems of banks and the notary service.

The only exception will be payments made through bank cash desks. Notaries will accept electronic confirmation of payment, which banks and payment providers are required to transmit automatically.

The decree also sets long-term targets: by 2030, the shadow economy is expected to shrink 1.3-fold, while the share of cashless payments by the population in trade and services should increase to 75%.