President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree on August 14 titled "On measures to improve the provision of installment payment services to the population," as reported by the Ministry of Justice.
According to the document, starting January 1, 2027, the activities of installment payment service operators will be introduced in the country. Banks and microfinance organizations are excluded from this, and a legal entity providing installment payment services is considered an operator.
The right to engage in such activities arises after the company is included in a special register formed by the Central Bank. Banks and microfinance organizations are included in the register by notifying the Central Bank, while other legal entities are included after passing through the regulator's settlement registration.
The value of the installment payment object must not exceed 250 times the base calculation value (from September 1 — 110 million soums). Real estate, as well as property withdrawn from circulation or restricted in circulation, cannot be the object of installment services.
Installment payment operators are prohibited from issuing financial consumer loans and attracting funds from individuals. The right to claim under installment contracts may be assigned only in favor of another installment operator, microfinance organization, or bank.
The decree also establishes requirements for installment contracts. They must separately indicate the operator's commission or markup, as well as other payments included in the final cost of the goods, work, or service.
The total amount of all payments, excluding the principal debt, including intermediary fees, fines, penalties, and other liability measures, must not exceed 50% of the installment amount per year.
The consumer is granted the right to fully or partially repay the installment early at any time without additional fines, penalties, and commissions. In this case, the maximum term of the consumer's obligations under the installment contract is 12 months from the date of its conclusion.
Additionally, from January 1, 2027, organizations issuing commodity consumer loans will not be obliged to send information about contracts and their execution to credit bureaus for amounts up to 3 times the base calculation value (1.32 million soums).
According to the decree, installment payment operators are obliged to: carry out digital identification and verification of clients using information technologies, transfer all installment contracts and information on their execution to credit bureaus, and take into account the maximum debt burden indicator of the client, established by the Central Bank.
Furthermore, organizations issuing commodity consumer loans, with a quarterly turnover from the sale of goods, works, and services exceeding 500 million soums and a share of installment services of 50% or more, will be required to pass settlement registration, enter the register, and comply with the requirements established for installment operators.
Installment operators will also be obliged to comply with prudential norms and requirements established by the Central Bank for regulating and controlling their activities.
Central Bank analyses show that the installment market poses hidden risks to financial stability. The regulator has studied the growth of service revenues and the profile of users across regions.
According to the regulator's calculations, purchasing equipment in installments often costs more than a bank loan. Using the iPhone 16 Pro Max as an example, the regulator demonstrated that the markup can reach 44%, and the real overpayment can be up to 74% per annum.
In late June 2025, Central Bank Chairman Timur Ishmetov announced that the installment market in Uzbekistan had reached 8.5 trillion soums. Most contracts are not recorded in credit bureaus, which increases the real debt burden of the population. The regulator proposed forcing participants to disclose information and the exact amount of overpayment.
Source: www.gazeta.uz