TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, February 22. A number of Uzbek banks, including Ipak Yuli and Halyk Bank, reported the suspension of operations with the Contact money transfer system, Trend reports.
This is due to the revocation of Russian QIWI Bank's license, the owner of the Contact system.
The license of QIWI Bank was revoked on February 21 by the Central Bank of Russia due to systematic violations of legislation on combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
After the revocation of the license, the Contact system stopped working, and deposits and withdrawals through the QIWI Wallet service were blocked.
This created inconvenience for banks in Uzbekistan, which offered their clients alternative systems such as Western Union, Zolotaya Korona, Visa Direct, MoneySend, MoneyGram, and Money Express.
Earlier in December 2023, the QIWI Uzbekistan application stopped working. This decision was made due to restrictions on international transfers and payments introduced by the Central Bank of Uzbekistan for payment services in September.
