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.
