News about payments: events, facts and developments on tafs uz.
21 stories
The Central Bank of Uzbekistan has approved a regulation on the procedure for retail payments through the national payment switch. The document was registered by the Ministry of Justice on October 23 and enters into force on January 25, 2027. The infrastructure operator will be the Main Center for Informatization under the Central Bank.
Otabek YusupovMastercard has announced the launch of Apple Pay in Uzbekistan in partnership with local banks. Mastercard cardholders will be able to pay for purchases in stores, apps and on websites via iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad and Mac.
Aziz KarimovDue to the long New Year holidays from December 31, 2026 to January 10, 2027, some pensioners will have their January pension transferred early. Economist Igor Balynin explained who this will affect and why two sums in December do not mean an increase.
Otabek YusupovClick has announced it is moving closer to Apple Pay: the company's partners will be able to activate payments through the existing integration without a separate technical project with Apple. Payment confirmation is via Face ID, Touch ID or the device passcode.
Otabek YusupovAt the 'Russia — Africa' summit in Moscow, Vladimir Putin invited African states to join a cross-border payment system with digital currencies. Siluanov named the company A7 and a 0.3% fee, while Oreshkin spoke about moving away from the dollar and the euro in foreign trade.
Otabek YusupovThe UK government has announced a one-off £100 payment to households in England in council tax bands A to D. The money will arrive in accounts from the beginning of January. It will be funded by a tax increase on banks. Funds have been allocated for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but the decision rests with the local authorities.
Otabek YusupovThe Central Bank of Uzbekistan confirmed the official launch of Apple Pay. At the first stage, the service works with Visa and Mastercard cards from eight banks, with support for the national cards Uzcard and Humo expected in the near future.
Otabek YusupovOn October 27, 2026, Apple Pay became available in Uzbekistan. Cards from eight banks can be connected: Visa and Mastercard from Uzum Bank, Orient Finans Bank, the National Bank of Uzbekistan, Kapitalbank, Hamkorbank, Ipak Yo‘li Bank, TBC Bank, and Octobank. Having a card does not guarantee connection — terms depend on the bank.
Otabek YusupovIpak Yuli Bank announced the launch of the Apple Pay service: the bank's cardholders can pay for purchases with iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac in stores, online, and in apps. Setup is done through the Wallet app, and the bank's bonuses are preserved.
Aziz KarimovVisa announced the launch of Apple Pay and Google Pay support for its cards in Uzbekistan. Cardholders can add their cards to Wallet or Google Wallet and pay for purchases with a smartphone or watch in stores, on public transport and online. Payments are confirmed via Face ID, Touch ID or a passcode, and card details are protected through tokenization.
Aziz KarimovStarting October 27, Android and Wear OS users in Uzbekistan can pay for purchases via Google Wallet. So far, the service supports cards from nine banks — mostly Visa and Mastercard. Money is deducted directly from the linked card, not from a separate balance.
Otabek YusupovOn October 27, 2026, the international payment services Apple Pay and Google Pay went live in Uzbekistan. The launch was announced by the Head of the Presidential Administration, Saida Mirziyoyeva. The launch was the result of years of work: from a government instruction in 2024 to amendments to the personal data law that removed the barrier of local data storage.
Sevara AzamovaOn the morning of October 27, users in Uzbekistan were able to add cards of local banks to Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. Apple named eight supporting banks, Google nine. There has been no official government announcement of the launch yet, and Uzbekistan is still absent from the list of countries on Apple's website.
Otabek YusupovEkaterina Stenyakina, First Deputy Chair of the State Duma Committee on Agrarian Issues, said that the date a pension is received depends on the delivery method and the payment schedule in the region: a pensioner chooses only the method of receipt, not the day. When receiving via Russian Post, about three weeks are allotted for payout, and if the money is not collected for six months, the payment is suspended.
Aziz KarimovA two-year experiment by the British charity Cool Earth in the Peruvian Asháninka region showed that daily payments to local residents of about $3 contribute to tropical forest protection. About 90% of participants adopted conservation practices, the share of households without adequate nutrition fell from 73% to 26%, and forced labor migration fell from 43% to 18%.
Aziz KarimovThe Tourism Committee of Uzbekistan reported that Google Pay is already operating in the country, while the Apple Pay launch is expected in the coming days. Technical integration is being carried out by the Central Bank, commercial banks and the Humo and Uzcard payment systems. The goal is to simplify payments for foreign tourists. Integration with China's Alipay+ is also underway, and a link between UZQR and India's UPI is being discussed.
Sevara AzamovaGovernor of Sakhalin Oblast Valery Limarenko announced a new support measure within the 'Happy Motherhood' movement: starting in 2027, expectant mothers preparing to raise a child without the participation of a second parent will receive a monthly payment until the child turns three. The benefit is tentatively set at 25% of the average monthly salary in the region.
Sevara AzamovaSources tell Spot that Apple Pay has a preliminary launch date in Uzbekistan — October 27. On October 19, Google officially announced the launch of Google Pay in the country during a session in Samarkand in the C5+1 format. Preparations were underway after the personal data law was softened in March.
Sardor Qodirov
