The Central Bank of Uzbekistan is working on integrating the popular Chinese WeChat and Alipay payment systems with the local payment infrastructure. This was announced by Miraziz Mirhayotov, Deputy Head of the Payment Systems Department of the Central Bank, at a media briefing on April 11, Spot reports.
According to Mirhayotov, this integration is aimed at enabling foreign tourists to make convenient and fast payments using national cards upon arrival in Uzbekistan. Technical documentation is currently being developed and negotiations with WeChat and Alipay have begun.
- “At the first stage, we are working on creating the opportunity for foreign tourists to make payments in Uzbekistan. The next stage is to create conditions for Uzbeks to make payments in China via Uzcard and Humo”, Mirhayotov said.
He also noted that the idea of a superapp, developed in accordance with the Presidential Decree, is intended only for the needs of foreign tourists, and such a program within the country could negatively affect the development of the fintech market, where healthy competition has developed.
Therefore, the Central Bank has set a priority for strengthening local payment systems and integrating them into international systems. Negotiations are ongoing to connect Uzcard and Humo with international services such as WeChat, Alipay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, UniPay.
We would like to remind you that in October 2023, the government tasked the Tourism Committee, the Central Bank, and the Ministry of Digital Technologies with connecting these international payment systems to the infrastructure of Uzbekistan.
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