Uzum Bank reports 142,000 Apple Pay sign-ups in the first 24 hours in Uzbekistan

More than 142,000 Uzum Bank customers added Visa cards to Apple Wallet in the first 24 hours after Apple Pay went live in Uzbekistan on 27 October, according to Uzum. They made over 60,000 transactions worth UZS 2.8 billion, about $235,000. Repeat payments were 48.3% of transactions, with public transport, groceries, restaurants and cafés among the top categories.

The central bank says cards from eight local banks can be linked at launch, including Visa cards from Uzum Bank and Hamkorbank. Support for the national schemes Uzcard and Humo is expected soon, and the rollout continues in stages.

Uzum, founded in 2022, combines a marketplace, express delivery, banking, consumer lending and services for entrepreneurs, and says more than 20 million people use its services each month. Roman Lavrentyev, its co-founder and COO and the CEO of Uzum Fintech, said the speed of adoption shows a highly connected market.