At the Silk Road Finance & Technology forum held in Tashkent on August 24–26, 2026, regional regulators outlined a new approach to cross-border markets. Instead of creating supranational legislation, Central Asian countries are betting on the interoperability of technical standards—from QR payments to open banking. Finteqstan previously reported on the start of these discussions; the strategic contours of integration are now clear.
What was discussed
The event, organized by the Central Bank of Uzbekistan and the Singapore-based Global Finance & Technology Network, gathered over 6,000 participants. The main topic was fragmentation: currently, a financial product from one country cannot automatically work in a neighboring one due to differing rules.
Central Bank of Uzbekistan Chairman Timur Ishmetov stated that the region does not need a single regulator. Aligning standards will yield faster practical results: launching interoperable QR payments, mutually recognizing digital identification, and establishing common data exchange principles.
Strategy and capital
The forum featured the presentation of Uzbekistan’s National Fintech Development Strategy through 2030 (the regulator has not yet published the official text of the document). The stated goal is to attract $1 billion in foreign investment and launch an innovation hub in the fourth quarter of 2026.
According to estimates shared at the event, venture capital investment in Central Asia totaled around $320 million in 2025. Total accumulated foreign direct investment in the region reached $220.5 billion by the end of 2024, with Kazakhstan accounting for 69%.
Why it matters
Abandoning the politically complex idea of unified financial legislation allows banks and fintech companies to scale services to neighboring countries faster via APIs and shared gateways.