As of September 2024, Uzbekistan has seen a rise in the adoption of remote banking services, a reflection of the country’s growing digital economy. The number of users of remote banking service channels reached 48.4mn, marking a 23.1% increase compared to the previous year and a 4.7-fold growth over the past five years.

This surge in usage is primarily driven by individuals, who make up the vast majority of remote banking customers. Over the past year alone, the number of individual users has grown by 23.5%, reaching a total of 47mn. In comparison, Kazakhstan, with a population nearly double that of Uzbekistan, has seen 24.8mn active users of online banking services, a 12.4% increase year-on-year (y/y).

Among Uzbekistan’s 34 commercial banks, three institutions have emerged as leaders in remote banking. Uzpromstroybank (SQB), Xalq Banki, and Agrobank account for a combined total of 17.9mn individual users, making up nearly 40% of the country’s remote banking customers. These figures underscore the growing shift towards digital banking platforms in the country.

The rapid growth of remote banking services is paralleled by an increasing number of payment cards in circulation. In September 2024, there were 53.6mn payment cards in Uzbekistan, a 29.6% y/y increase, and 2.7 times higher than five years ago. Despite this progress, Uzbekistan’s payment card penetration remains lower than Kazakhstan’s, which saw 79.9mn cards in circulation by the same period.

In terms of funds transferred, Uzbekistan’s payment terminals processed UZS 237.5 trillion ($18.6bn) from January to September 2024, marking a 30.8% increase compared to the same period in 2023. This represents a 25.3% y/y growth and is 3.4 times higher than the amount recorded five years ago.

While the number of payment terminals has slightly decreased by 1.2% to 424,000 units, their growth over the past five years has been remarkable, with a 24.9% increase. Furthermore, the number of ATMs and information kiosks has grown by 18.3% in the past year, reaching 28,400 units, which is 3.4 times more than five years ago.

The largest commercial banks in Uzbekistan, including Xalq Banki, Agrobank, Ipoteka Bank, and TBC Bank, continue to dominate the payment card market. Xalq Banki alone accounted for 11.9mn cards, or 20% of all cards in circulation, while Agrobank, Ipoteka Bank, and TBC Bank collectively issued nearly half of the country’s payment cards.