Google Pay launches in Uzbekistan, Apple Pay should be available soon

TASHKENT. Oct 22 (Interfax) - The Google Pay payment service has launched in Uzbekistan, according to the country's Tourism Committee.

"Google Pay has launched in Uzbekistan. The launch of Apple Pay should be in the coming days. Technical preparations are currently underway, involving the Central Bank, commercial banks, and the HUMO and Uzcard payment systems," the committee said.

According to the committee, the initiative is part of broader tourism sector reforms to create a more convenient environment for international visitors, which includes integrating major global payment systems into the national infrastructure.

"The primary goal is to ensure that tourists in Uzbekistan can use familiar, reliable, and trusted payment services. Special focus is on the Chinese and Indian markets, from which a significant increase in tourist arrivals is anticipated. Efforts are underway to integrate with systems such as Alipay+ and NPCI International. Notably, an Alipay+ payment gateway was launched on the HUMO infrastructure in August," according to the statement.

According to the committee, HUMO and India's NPCI International met in Mumbai to discuss practical aspects of implementing an agreement on cross-border QR payments. The project, which integrates Uzbekistan's UzQR with India's UPI payment system, will allow tourists from India to pay for goods and services at retail outlets and service points by scanning QR codes using the apps to which they are already accustomed.