On October 27, several commercial banking applications in Uzbekistan reportedly introduced the capability to link local bank cards to the international payment systems Apple Pay and Google Pay. While this development is being promoted as a major milestone for the country's digital financial infrastructure, analysts point out numerous potential friction points and lingering uncertainties regarding regulatory compliance.

According to data provided within Apple’s Wallet application, users can supposedly add cards issued by a select group of local financial institutions. The purported list includes Uzum Bank (Visa), Orient Finans Bank (Visa, Mastercard), National Bank (Visa, Mastercard), Kapitalbank (Visa, Mastercard), Hamkorbank (Visa), Ipak Yuli Bank (Visa, Mastercard), TBC Bank (Visa, Mastercard), and Octobank (Visa, Mastercard). However, the interface warns that certain banks might fail to support all card categories, and the directory is expected to be updated incrementally.

It is important to highlight a notable discrepancy: Uzbekistan has allegedly not yet been officially added to the list of countries that officially support Apple Pay, casting doubt on the long-term reliability of these integrations. Conversely, the situation with Google Pay appears slightly more advanced, with the platform reportedly incorporating Uzbekistan into its supported territories.

Data from the Google Wallet app indicates that the system supports cards issued by AVO Bank (Mastercard), Octobank (Visa, Mastercard), Uzum Bank (Visa), TBC Bank (Visa, Mastercard), Aloqabank (Visa, Mastercard), Kapitalbank (Visa, Mastercard), Ipak Yuli Bank (Visa, Mastercard), and National Bank (Visa, Mastercard). Although these mobile payment options claim to offer enhanced convenience for local consumers, the overall rollout has raised concerns about premature deployment and technical oversight.

Source: kun.uz