TASHKENT, Uzbekistan,
August 24. Payment companies from Uzbekistan and
China are discussing the technical integration of their payment
systems, Chairman of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan Timur Ishmetov
said, Trend’s special
correspondent reports from Tashkent.
He made the remark during a media briefing held as part of the
Silk Road Finance & Technology Forum.
According to Ishmetov, China is one of Uzbekistan’s two largest
economic partners, making payment system integration an important
next step in bilateral economic cooperation.
“China is one of the two biggest partners of Uzbekistan. Given
the geographical location and history, this is a big partner for
us, and obviously, if you have a big economic partner, the next
step is how we can integrate the payment system,” Ishmetov
said.
He noted that Uzbek payment companies are already in talks with
their Chinese counterparts on technical integration.
“It is already happening because through our payment companies,
most of the time, they are already in talks with payment companies
from China on technical integration,” he said.
According to Ishmetov, improving payment connectivity is
particularly important given the significant flow of people between
the two countries.
“There are a lot of people from China coming to Uzbekistan and a
lot of people going there. So providing an efficient way of
payment, equal payment, I think this is a good situation for
everybody,” he said.
The Central Bank of Uzbekistan is ready to provide support for
such initiatives, Ishmetov added.
“From the Central Bank’s part, we are only supporting them. I
cannot say that the Central Bank is facilitating this itself, but
the market itself will drive it, and we as a Central Bank are ready
to provide our support,” he said.
