The Impact of Digital Payments on Private Sector Development in Uzbekistan (FINANCE MONEY AND CREDIT)

Summary

• POS payment turnover in Uzbekistan increased approximately fourfold, from UZS 112.4 trillion to UZS 460.3 trillion.p.1
• The share of POS payments in nominal GDP rose from 13.1% to 24.9%.p.1
• The estimated shadow economy declined from 45–50% of GDP in 2019 to 33% in 2025, although causality remains unproven.p.1
• The POS terminal network comprised approximately 434,000 terminals in early 2022 and 430,762 on 1 January 2026, so growth did not require more terminals.p.5
• Only 10% of small and 16% of medium-sized enterprises report access to bank credit.p.6
• Online sales grew 1.5 times in 2025 to UZS 22.7 trillion, lifting the share of e-commerce in retail trade from 3.7% to 4.6%.p.6

Key insights

1. Over one-third of MSMEs lack bank accounts and access to credit remains low despite e-commerce growth.p.1
2. The study finds a relatively strong formalisation channel, moderate transaction-cost and market-access effects, and a weak information-and-credit channel.p.1
3. NFC payments totalled UZS 41.4 trillion in 2024 according to reported CBU indicators.p.5
4. Uzum reported that its ecosystem processed USD 11.1 billion in payments in 2025.p.5
5. Reported turnover through online cash registers increased by 18.4% in 2025, and 6.8 million consumers reportedly received tax cashback for fiscal receipts.p.6
6. Women-led firms are more than twice as likely as male-led firms to cite finance as their main obstacle (23% versus 10%).p.6
7. The number of e-commerce platforms increased from 36 to 115.p.6
8. Transforming payment data into affordable credit for small firms is currently the least well-established mechanism among the four channels.p.7