For context, read this profile alongside the neobank overview and the global bank map. It is a case study in a licensed or partner-bank business model, not a product recommendation. Primary source: TBC Bank Uzbekistan.
By 2026 Uzbekistan has turned into the main point of attraction for fintech capital in Central Asia. The population is approaching 40m, the median age holds below thirty, and the state is methodically squeezing cash out of retail circulation. The banking sector nevertheless remains semi-state-owned: nine state banks account for ≈65% of assets, and the updated privatisation strategy promises to reduce that share to 55% by 2030, cutting the number of state banks to four.
Such a configuration leaves a private digital player the kind of room that mature markets never offer. The most visible such player has been a group from Tbilisi: TBC Bank Group PLC, a bank founded in 1992, listed on the LSE under the ticker TBCG and a constituent of the FTSE 250 index, has assembled a digital cluster in Uzbekistan with 24.2m registered users, more than half the country's adult population.
Background
The expansion began with payments. In April 2019 TBC bought 51% of the Payme service (Inspired LLC) for $5.5m, and in May 2023 it bought out the remaining 49% for $55.7m. A tenfold rise in valuation over four years describes the market's dynamics more precisely than any analysis; by the time the bank launched, the group already held millions of active wallets.
The banking floor appeared in 2020: TBC obtained a licence from the Central Bank of Uzbekistan and launched the country's first digital bank without branches. EBRD and IFC then entered the capital of TBC Bank UZ, supporting several rounds of capital increase including a record $38.2m. Today the cluster consists of the bank, the Payme payments service, TBC BNPL instalment lending (grown out of Payme Nasiya), the insurer TBC Sug'urta and the retail SaaS platform BILLZ.
The latest move is a step into classifieds. On 24 July 2026 the group closed its purchase of OLX Uzbekistan: a joint venture with Titan Investments bought 100% of the platform from Prosus, TBC's share in the JV is 50% plus one share, and the amount was not disclosed. OLX remains the country's largest classifieds site, with over 5m monthly active users, over 2m listings, a place in the top 10 most visited sites and reach of ≈17% of the active internet audience.
Products and pricing
Retail is assembled around the mobile app. The deposit range as of August 2026 pays up to 20% a year on a fixed-term soum deposit of 3–24 months (an effective rate with compounding of up to 24.35%), the open-ended Odat deposit brings 13% with unlimited withdrawal, and dollar deposits pay 5.5–6.5% over terms of 13–24 months with a ceiling of $50,000 per deposit. The entry threshold starts at 1,000 soums, and a client may hold up to ten soum deposits.
The debit Salom card runs on a zero-commission model as of August 2026: issuance and delivery of the first card are free, payments inside the country and abroad carry no bank commission, and so do transfers in the app and to other banks' cards. Cash withdrawal is free at any bank's ATMs within 10m soums a month, with other banks' fees reimbursed. Cashback is 1% on all purchases and up to 5% with partners, and on balances over 100,000 soums a separate option pays 12% a year; delivery takes up to three days.
The scale of the range is visible in the reporting: Salom has over 1.2m cards issued at 82% activation, while the Osmon credit card has 212,000 cards at 91% activation and accounts for ≈10% of the loan portfolio. Alongside them run TBC BNPL (≈190,000 active users), Payme payments and transfers, insurance policies and the Lola AI assistant across the whole client base. For companies there is TBC Biznes with digital SME onboarding, payroll projects and lending, serving ≈67,000 clients.
The cluster's finances are transparent thanks to London disclosure. In FY2025 the Uzbek business earned 581bn soums of net profit with operating income up 64%; in the first quarter of 2026 it earned 93bn soums on deposits of 7.1trn soums (up 24.3% year on year), loans of 10.4trn and quarterly payment volume of 31.8trn soums.
Competitive landscape
The main rival grew up inside the market. In March 2026 the Uzum ecosystem raised $131.5m at a valuation of $2.3bn, in a round led by Omani sovereign funds with participation from Tencent, VR Capital and FinSight Ventures, the valuation adding over 50% in seven months. Uzum has ≈20m users, 2025 revenue of $691m with net profit of $176m, a bank with 5m clients and the Nasiya instalment business with an unsecured portfolio of ≈$400m; a pre-IPO round of $250–300m is pencilled in for the turn of 2026–2027.
The difference between the models is worth keeping in mind. Uzum was built from marketplace and logistics towards a bank, while TBC took the opposite route, from payments and a licence towards trading platforms, and the OLX purchase closes exactly that gap. Both ecosystems are aiming at the role of the country's main super-app, and both have already passed the 20m user mark.
The second tier is crowded. Click SuperApp and Paynet hold strong positions in payments, Kapitalbank is developing the digital Apelsin, and Anorbank, AVO Bank, Alif and Xazna are all active in the market. Reviews of mobile financial apps through 2026 record intensifying competition for the smartphone screen: leadership in individual categories changes quickly, and user loyalty costs less than it does in Europe.
What it means for the client
The main update for foreigners is that since September 2025 TBC UZ has opened access to non-residents. You will need a foreign passport, temporary registration in Uzbekistan, a PINFL number and a local phone number; the application and verification are completed in the app, and the contract is signed when a bank representative comes out to meet you. Those visits are so far confined to Tashkent, and the product set covers the Salom card, deposits, transfers and insurance.
The practical meaning is twofold. For those who spend enough time in the country to obtain registration and a PINFL, the cluster provides a working account with zero transfer commissions and high soum yields. For everyone else it is first of all a map of the market: live digital infrastructure, a mass online user base and transparent rates make up an environment in which it makes sense to model business plans from fintech to retail.
The story reads conveniently alongside Georgian banking. TBC grew up in the NBG's regulatory school, the London listing supplies a UK standard of disclosure, and the Uzbek expansion shows how the competencies of a mature market convert into a neighbouring jurisdiction. The observer gets public quarterly reporting instead of rumours and press releases.
Under the hood
What interests a builder here is the order of assembly: a payment service with ready-made traffic (Payme, 2019), then a banking licence of its own (2020), then the superstructure of BNPL, insurance, SaaS and classifieds. Each layer feeds its neighbours: OLX generates peer-to-peer deals that are convenient to finance with bank loans and to settle through Payme. The group calls this an embedded-finance strategy and expects OLX to contribute to growth from the second half of 2027.
The segment's economics rest on margin. The net interest margin of the Uzbek business came to 17.2% in the second quarter of 2026 against 6.3% in Georgia, and a margin like that exists precisely because it covers a high cost of risk. The segment's loan portfolio is GEL 2,306m (≈$872m), or ≈7% of the group's lending; after contracting 6% between June 2025 and March 2026 the portfolio stabilised and added 0.4% over the quarter.
The capital scheme is a platform export funded with public money: technology and a team from Tbilisi, a CBU licence, capital from the LSE plus EBRD and IFC in the subsidiary. The parent group earned GEL 386m in the second quarter of 2026 (up 12% year on year) at an ROE of 23.6%, the fourteenth consecutive quarter above 23%. The Georgian business delivered GEL 379m, that is ≈95% of group profit: the Uzbek cluster remains an investment story with a horizon of several years.
Regulation and status
TBC Bank UZ has operated under a banking licence from the Central Bank of Uzbekistan since 2020, the parent TBC Bank Group PLC trades on the LSE and reports to UK standards, and the presence of EBRD and IFC in the subsidiary's capital adds a layer of institutional control.
The regulatory frame, meanwhile, is tightening. The Central Bank of Uzbekistan is winding down the preferential regime for unsecured retail lending: a minimum income threshold for microloans is being introduced, the exemptions that allowed them to be issued without a debt-burden calculation are being removed, and a systemic risk buffer is under discussion; mortgage LTV limits came into force back in July 2025. For banks with a digital retail model this means a direct contraction in origination.
Status as of August 2026: 24.2m registered ecosystem users and 5.8m monthly active users on the group's figures, a closed OLX transaction, a loan portfolio that has stabilised after re-tuning, and access open to non-residents in Tashkent.
FAQ
Can a foreigner open an account with TBC UZ?
Yes, the bank has served non-residents since September 2025. You need a foreign passport, temporary registration in Uzbekistan, a PINFL number and a local phone number; the application is submitted in the app, and the contract is signed at a personal meeting with a bank representative. Those visits are so far organised only around Tashkent, and there is no fully remote onboarding from abroad.
What deposit rates does the bank offer?
As of August 2026 a fixed-term soum deposit pays up to 20% a year over terms of 3–24 months, and with compounding the effective rate reaches 24.35%. The open-ended Odat pays 13% with free withdrawal, and dollar deposits pay 5.5–6.5% with a ceiling of $50,000. The high nominal soum yield compensates for inflation and currency risk, so comparing it directly with foreign-currency rates is meaningless.
How much does the Salom card cost to run?
Issuance and delivery of the first card are free, and there are no bank commissions on payments inside the country or abroad. Transfers in the app and to other banks' cards are free, and cash withdrawal is free at any bank's ATMs up to 10m soums a month. Cashback is 1% on everything and up to 5% with partners, and on balances over 100,000 soums you can switch on interest of 12% a year.
Why does the bank need the OLX Uzbekistan classifieds site?
A classifieds site brings a ready flow of peer-to-peer deals: they are convenient to finance with loans and to settle through Payme, and the cost of customer acquisition falls. The transaction closed on 24 July 2026, with a JV alongside Titan Investments buying the platform from Prosus, TBC holding 50% plus one share, and OLX carrying over 5m monthly active users. The group expects a contribution to financial results from the second half of 2027.
How resilient is the parent group?
TBC Bank Group trades on the LSE, belongs to the FTSE 250 and posted an ROE of 23.6% in the second quarter of 2026, the fourteenth consecutive quarter above 23%. The Georgian business delivers ≈95% of profit, while the Uzbek segment accounts for ≈7% of the loan portfolio at an elevated cost of risk. UK disclosure makes monitoring straightforward: the Uzbekistan numbers are published as a separate line every quarter.