The Russian payment system QIWI has announced that its QIWI Uzbekistan application will cease operations on December 18. Users are advised to withdraw any remaining funds to their Uzcard and HUMO cards by this date or use the balance to pay for services such as utilities or mobile communication.
From November 16, a daily commission of UZS 75,000 ($6,19) will be charged for storing money in the wallet. The company explains this measure is necessary as they cannot hold customer funds after the closure of the QIWI Uzbekistan application. After December 18, users will need to apply to withdraw money from their wallet balance, hence the company recommends withdrawing funds as soon as possible.
The Central Bank of Uzbekistan has imposed restrictions on all payment systems, limiting international transfers. As a result, the QIWI wallet in Uzbekistan now has limited functionality, allowing only payments for local services and transfers to local bank cards. Given that nearly 90% of users utilized the service for foreign services and international transfers, QIWI has decided to close the QIWI Uzbekistan application.
Users can now access services through the single QIWI application, and creating a new wallet in rubles or tenge requires only an Uzbek phone number. For any queries, users are asked to contact the service via Telegram.
Since September 5, other services like Oson and PayWay have also suspended international transfers and payments for foreign services. The head of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, Mamariso Nurmuratov, explained that these restrictions were necessary as payment systems were performing conversion transactions on behalf of customers and labelling them as export receipts. These systems did not identify the sender and recipient of the money.
Follow Daryo's official Instagram and Twitter pages to keep current on world news.
Comments (0)