Qiwi Uzbekistan suspends international money transfers

The Russian subsidiary of Qiwi has suspended international money transfers, including to Russian cards and e-wallets, due to restrictions from the Central Bank.

From September 5, the Central Bank of Uzbekistan introduced a ban on cross-border transactions for payment organizations. It was said that this measure was taken to protect the local financial system and the fintech market.

“We encountered unexpected restrictions from the Central Bank of Uzbekistan. As a result, we had to stop our operations with Uzcard and HUMO cards,” Qiwi Uzbekistan said.

It is noted that currently no transactions are carried out using Uzcard and HUMO cards, and there are no transfers to Qiwi Russia and Qiwi Kazakhstan e-wallets, and no payments for foreign and financial services.

Clients can carry out payment transactions for the services of Uzbek providers only from the wallet, as well as through transfers between Qiwi Uzbekistan electronic wallets.

The payment system notes that it will be impossible to withdraw money before receiving official instructions from the Central Bank of Uzbekistan. It is also unknown when restrictions will be lifted.

Qiwi's payment subsidiary has been operating in Uzbekistan under the name Payment Aggregation Systems since July 2020.