Uzbekistan’s Bank Card Market Expands: 298 Types and Growth in Contactless Payments

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Central Bank of Uzbekistan has released a report on the state of the bank card market as of 1 October 2024, highlighting dynamic growth in cashless payments and the country’s digital infrastructure.

According to the report, 298 types of bank cards are issued by 35 commercial banks in Uzbekistan. The majority are debit cards (287 types), while the credit card segment comprises 11 products.

The currency structure of the market shows a dominance of cards in the national currency — 103 types. Cards in foreign currencies number 145, and multi-currency solutions are represented by 39 products.

In terms of payment systems, the national Uzcard and Humo lead with 49 and 36 card types respectively. Among international systems, Visa issues the largest number of cards (85 types), followed by Mastercard (42) and UnionPay (6).

A demographic analysis revealed a gender imbalance among cardholders: 55% are men, 45% women. Overall, the client base is nearly evenly split, with 51% male and 49% female.

Regionally, the capital dominates: Tashkent has 28 million cards in circulation, Samarkand and Andijan regions have 3.8 million each, and Fergana has 4.1 million. The fewest cards are registered in Navoi (1.5 million) and Syrdarya (1 million).

For every 1,000 adults in the country, there are 843 active bank accounts.

Contactless payments are growing rapidly. NFC transaction volumes increased by 62.4%, reaching 3.85 trillion soums at the beginning of 2025, while the number of operations rose from 23.7 million to 48.8 million. Tashkent leads in average monthly transaction volume (37.66 trillion soums), while regional figures range from 2.44 trillion in Syrdarya to 11.49 trillion soums in Tashkent region.

Installment cards are issued by four banks, and traditional credit cards are available from seven banks, with a maximum credit limit of 100 million soums. Interest rates range from 25.6% to 74.9% per annum, with a grace period of 40–55 days without interest.