Крупные платежные сервисы Узбекистана временно приостановили международные денежные переводы
5 September 2023
Pay Way and Oson, the largest payment services in Uzbekistan, have temporarily suspended their international money transfer services in accordance with a directive from the country's central bank. The Pay Way app has disabled transfers to all international destinations, including Russia. Oson has also suspended transfers abroad and payments for foreign services. However, domestic payments and transfers between local money transfer systems Uzcard and Humo will continue to operate. Both companies promise to restore the disabled services in the near future. The decision to temporarily suspend international transfers was made by the Central Bank of Uzbekistan to protect the country's financial system and ensure security in the financial technology market. The regulator highlighted the need to protect against risks associated with the international trade and financial system. The Oson app is widely used by labor migrants from Uzbekistan residing in Russia. However, at the end of August, the payment organization Brio Group, which owns the Oson brand, was fined by the Central Bank of Uzbekistan for violations in the field of combating money laundering and terrorist financing. According to the regulator's data, there are 52 payment systems operating in Uzbekistan, with Oson and Pay Way being the largest among them. Over 80% of all international transfers made by these services are to Russia. Representatives of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan have not yet commented on the situation.