Our experts, Vasily Stabronik (CTO of BeginTimes) and Sergey Mozolevsky (Chief Engineer), shared their insights on digitalisation, banking services and fintech trends in Uzbekistan and across Asia. 

Key Trends:

• Palm Payment — biometric identification via palm print, already in use in Beijing’s metro, schools, and gyms, providing fast and secure payments.
• Retail Banking — QR codes for cash withdrawals, development of contactless payments via biometrics and mobile applications.
• Asset Tokenization — Kazakhstan is working on crypto-acquiring and stablecoins; Uzbekistan regulates cryptocurrency circulation.
• Automation and AI — 92% of companies use AI for data analysis, efficiency improvement and threat monitoring.
• Customer Experience — banks focus on 24/7 service, hyper-personalized user experiences, and online lending (e.g., Halyk Bank processes 93% of applications remotely).
• Security — implementing modern technologies and raising awareness remain top priorities.

Uzbekistan-Specific Features:

• Local residents still prefer cash and currency exchanges outside the banks.
• Large-denomination notes are inconvenient for everyday transactions.
• Additional fees are sometimes charged at certain points of service.
• Some sales points operate two terminals for different payment systems.

The forum provided an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences, explore new technologies and establish partnerships. BeginTimes is ready to support payment services development in the region. 

See you at the next PLUS Forum!