Apple Pay and Google Pay went live in Uzbekistan this week, with users adding Visa and Mastercard cards from about eight local banks, including Kapitalbank, TBC Bank, and the National Bank of Uzbekistan. The launch follows a rewrite of the country’s data protection rules, and Saida Mirziyoyeva, head of the presidential administration, said Uzbekistan is opening the door to foreign payment systems without restrictions. Uzbekistan’s central bank plans to bring the domestic card networks Uzcard and HUMO onto the wallets later but hasn’t said when.
