The Central Bank of Uzbekistan will establish a fintech department to advance digital financial services

On 10 September, Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed proposals for the growth of the financial technology sector. The main decision was to establish a fintech office within the Central Bank, which will set success criteria and oversee the industry’s development, according to the presidential press service.

Today, the global fintech market is growing rapidly. Its volume exceeded $300 billion this year and is expected to reach more than $600 billion by 2030. Opportunities are also opening up in Uzbekistan. While there were only 24 fintech companies in the country in 2018, today there are already 103. This year, domestic companies attracted over $260 million in foreign investment, which is four times more than last year.

During the President’s open dialogue with entrepreneurs, support was announced for a thousand start-ups, the introduction of an open banking system and the development of a five-year fintech development strategy. At the presentation, officials reported on plans and proposals in this area.

The Head of State stressed the need to expand the technological capabilities of banks, increase the share of digital services, systematically support fintech companies and startups, and develop information technology infrastructure. Tasks have been defined for organizing the activities of the Fintech Office at the Central Bank to determine and manage success criteria. Plans have been approved to establish an innovation hub to accelerate startups, introduce new ideas and attract investment. It was emphasized that these measures will contribute to the transformation of Uzbekistan into a regional fintech center.