The Central Bank of Uzbekistan updated the rules of its experimental legal regime for financial services. According to Podrobno.uz, the Ministry of Justice registered a new administrative regulation on October 19, 2026, expanding the sandbox’s participants. Non-resident companies and businesses regulated by other state agencies can now test products under special rules.
The new document replaces the previous sandbox regulation, which had been in effect in Uzbekistan since October 2022.
Three tracks for pilot projects
The updated regulatory sandbox model divides experiments into three distinct areas. According to UzDaily.uz, which previously cited the draft document, each track has its own selection criteria and testing timelines.
The first track is “Innovation.” It targets developers of services based on new, unconventional, or previously unused approaches in the Uzbek market. Projects in this category must aim to eliminate inefficiencies in current processes, meet customer needs, increase financial inclusion, and generate concrete economic benefits. The standard testing period in this track is up to three years.
The second track is “Acceleration.” This area is designed specifically to test financial services that are new to the Uzbekistan market but already proven or implemented in other countries. The main condition for the applicant is to confirm the service can scale if the trials succeed. The acceleration track has a shorter timeline: up to 12 months, with a possible six-month extension.
The third track is “Technological Cooperation.” It allows existing banks and other organizations to test technical solutions designed to improve financial services. The developments must not violate current legislation or regulatory requirements. Like the innovation track, this track allows up to three years.
New operating rules and customer protection
The regulation establishes a clear procedure for maintaining the participant registry and interacting with the regulator. Companies wanting to launch a new financial product can now hold preliminary consultations with the Central Bank before officially submitting documents.
The application review period remains 40 working days. However, the regulator sped up feedback: it plans to notify applicants of its decision within one working day instead of the previous three.
A separate block of rules covers consumer information and security. Companies must explicitly state in advertising and any informational materials that the services are provided in an experimental regime.
Sandbox participant status can be revoked for violations. The regulation mandates excluding a company from the registry if it remains inactive for six months after launching a project. Cybersecurity incidents resulting in the leak or loss of confidential customer data serve as another strict ground for terminating the special status.
Context: betting on international fintech
Updating the regulatory sandbox rules is not an isolated decision but part of the Central Bank’s broader plan to develop the digital financial market. In September 2026, the regulator approved the National Financial Technology Development Strategy through 2030. According to Gazeta.uz, the document sets ambitious goals: create conditions to attract up to $1 billion in investment to the industry by 2030 and prepare 20–30 local fintech startups annually to enter foreign markets.
Central Bank Governor Timur Ishmetov, commenting on these plans, directly pointed to the role of experimental regimes. He said the regulator continues to improve the sandbox specifically to create clearer conditions for testing new financial products, including solutions from international companies.
Ishmetov also announced the Central Bank is creating its own innovation hub. The hub expects to admit its first group of residents in the fourth quarter of 2026. Synchronizing the hub’s launch with the updated sandbox rules indicates the regulator’s comprehensive approach to building fintech innovation infrastructure.
Why it matters
Admitting non-residents to the experimental regime appears designed to lower the entry barrier for international players entering the Uzbekistan market. The ability to legally test a product within the “Acceleration” track without immediately obtaining a full license gives foreign fintechs time to adapt to local conditions, test demand, and build partnerships with local banks.
For domestic players, expanding the sandbox also opens new opportunities, especially regarding integration with government services. Finteqstan previously reported that the Central Bank presented a concept to support small businesses, focusing on automated scoring and issuing microloans within an hour. The “Technological Cooperation” track gives banks a legal tool to test such scoring models, APIs, and integrations with other agencies’ databases before mass implementation. Involving companies regulated by other state bodies could accelerate the creation of cross-industry products at the intersection of banking and other economic sectors.