Uzbekistan’s national payment system Humo has partnered with French technology company IDEMIA Secure Transactions to develop a unified tokenization platform. The initiative is expected to significantly expand the integration of Humo cards with international digital payment ecosystems.
What is tokenization?
Tokenization is a security technology that replaces a bank card’s sensitive information with a unique digital token. Instead of transmitting the actual card details during a transaction, the payment is processed using the token, making digital payments more secure.
This technology forms the foundation of modern digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and other contactless payment services. Today, Humo cardholders can already:
- Make payments in more than 50 countries through the Alipay+ network.
- Use Humo cards at Halyk Bank terminals in Kazakhstan.
- Access payment services through Kyrgyzstan’s Elkart network.
The new tokenization platform is expected to strengthen these international partnerships while making future integrations faster and more efficient.
Once implemented, banks in Uzbekistan will no longer need to build separate integrations for every international payment service. Instead, they will be able to connect through Humo’s shared infrastructure, reducing both implementation time and development costs.
One of the most significant outcomes of the project could be the future integration of Humo cards with global digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and other mobile payment platforms.
The platform will also make it easier to enable Humo cards for payments within international mobile applications, online services, and cross-border digital payment platforms.
IDEMIA has already implemented similar projects in other countries. In Vietnam, the national payment network NAPAS is deploying the same IDEMIA tokenization platform to enable domestic payment cards to work with Apple Pay, banking wallets, and digital payment applications.
In Malaysia, IDEMIA’s technology has supported the integration of the national MyDebit card system with international mobile wallet platforms.
These examples demonstrate how tokenization platforms are becoming an essential part of connecting national payment systems to the global financial ecosystem.
