The Central Bank of Uzbekistan has begun technical preparation for the integration of international payment services. Negotiations with Apple and Google are scheduled for autumn, but the market lacks bylaws on data transfer for a full-fledged launch.
What Happened
The regulator’s press service told the Spot publication about the ongoing technical work to launch Apple Pay and Google Pay. According to sources, specialized discussions and negotiations are planned for September, but the commercial launch of the services will take place later.
Country and Market
For a long time, the main barrier to the entry of global big tech into Uzbekistan was an article in the law “On Personal Data.” It required all information to be stored on servers within the country. In March 2026, the president signed amendments allowing some data to be processed abroad. The only exceptions were biometrics, genetics, and telecom operator databases.
Data localization hindered payment integrations and the implementation of artificial intelligence in fintech. Previously, the management of TBC Bank noted that the ban on using foreign cloud storage made computing processes expensive and unscalable. Without access to global clouds, it is difficult for banks to develop and train heavy AI models for credit scoring and personalization.
Why It Matters and What’s Next
Uzbekistan’s technical infrastructure is ready: NFC-enabled terminals have long become the standard for retail. The legislative barrier has also been formally removed.
Access to foreign cloud capacities opens the door to large-scale AI models in banks, for which local servers were too expensive.
Now the government has to approve a list of countries with adequate data protection and contract standards. Without these bylaws, cross-border data transfer remains a legal gray area, which holds back the final business decisions of corporations.