Fintech & digital payments rules in Uzbekistan (2026)

The Law "On Payments and Payment Systems" entered into force on 3 February 2023 and is the main act governing payment systems, operators, and payment services; provision of payment services without a CBU license is prohibited.

The Central Bank of Uzbekistan licenses and supervises payment system operators and payment organizations under Regulation No. 3431 (5 May 2023), which sets requirements on founders, executive heads, authorized capital, business reputation, and technical/security continuity standards.

The CBU maintains registers of licensed entities; as of the start of 2025 there were 2 registered payment system operators (Humo, Uzcard) and 49 registered payment organizations (including Payme, Click, Uzum, Oson).

E-money is defined as irrevocable monetary obligations of the issuer stored electronically; only the Central Bank and commercial banks may issue e-money, while payment organizations may only operate/process it (e.g., Oson e-money is operated by Brio Group with Turkistonbank as issuer).

From 1 July 2025 the CBU applies raised minimum charter-capital thresholds for payment system operators and payment organizations, reflecting tighter prudential and ownership-transparency rules.

The Central Bank operates an Instant (Fast) Payment System with published transaction statistics (processing billions of dollars monthly in 2025); Uzcard and HUMO offer API access enabling fintech integration, while BNPL is largely delivered via microfinance institutions rather than a dedicated BNPL statute.