Key barriers: interbank blindness and gaps for SMEs
Barrier 1: Interbank commissions and network fragmentation
The presence of two major national payment systems creates confusion during transfers. Users often face unexpected commissions when sending money from one system to another within the same or different banks.
Product insight: Ecosystems implementing end-to-end payment routing are taking market share. It is important to visually highlight commission-free corridors even before entering the amount: a single transfer screen that automatically selects a route without a commission removes the main source of errors and distrust.
Barrier 2: The gap between personal and corporate finances
Entrepreneurs are forced to use different applications for personal needs and business management, which slows down settlements with counterparties.
Product insight: Blind testing of credit options for SMEs (using the example of products from players like Tenge Bank) shows that it is critically important for microbusinesses to be able to switch between an individual entrepreneur (IE) account and a personal card in a couple of clicks. Switching between an IE account and a personal card in a couple of taps and transparent scoring right in the app noticeably increase the engagement of the business segment.
Behavioral models: from caution to transit
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Cautious traditionalists: Use the app only to pay for utilities and phone bills. Avoid p2p transfers due to the fear of making a mistake and sending money to the wrong place.
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Multi-vector arbitrageurs: Actively use cards from 3–4 banks to minimize commissions, juggling balances through transit accounts.
How it looks in practice
A pastry shop owner in Tashkent accepts payment in three ways: a Click QR code at the checkout, a transfer to a card via Payme “for friends”, and a terminal that stably reads Uzcard but is capricious with Humo. In the evening, he reconciles the three revenue sources manually. His personal card is in one bank, his IE account is in another, so settling with the flour supplier means a transfer with a commission and an extra call to the accountant.
His regular customer keeps two cards in her wallet: a “salary” Humo and an Uzcard “for the bazaar” — in her neighborhood, half of the terminals accept only one system. Before a large transfer, she first checks whether the route will eat up a commission, and if it does, she goes to an ATM for cash.
Both stories are about the same thing: as long as the payment infrastructure is fragmented, the user does the work of a router. A superapp that hides this complexity under the hood — automatically choosing a commission-free corridor, showing the final amount before confirmation, and switching to the IE account in two taps — will capture both everyday payments and business turnover.
Why it matters
Payments are the most frequent customer contact with the bank: this is exactly where trust in the entire ecosystem is built or destroyed. As long as the user is forced to remember which card will “go through” in a specific terminal, no service on top of payments will seriously work. Whoever is the first to remove this routine will get the status of the primary app.
FAQ
Why do users keep funds on different cards?
Due to differences in the acceptance of Uzcard and Humo systems in the regions, as well as to bypass commissions on p2p transfers.
What is the most annoying thing in the transfer interface?
The lack of a final amount with the commission before the payment is confirmed.
How are SMEs adapting to superapps?
Microbusinesses need credit and payment solutions in a single window — without heavyweight corporate internet banks.
Why are there two payment systems in Uzbekistan instead of one?
Uzcard and Humo developed as separate national projects with different processing centers. For the user, this results in a difference in card acceptance and commissions. The unification of the systems has been discussed for years, but for now, banks are solving the problem on their side — through end-to-end transfer routing.
What is end-to-end payment routing?
A mechanic in which the app itself chooses the optimal transfer path between Uzcard, Humo, and accounts of different banks — by price and speed. The user sees a single “Transfer” button and the final amount, rather than a zoo of tariffs.
Original research source: How Uzbekistanis use payments and transfers in banking ecosystems