TBC Bank Uzbekistan is a digital bank licensed by the Central Bank of Uzbekistan and controlled by TBC Bank Group. The group's Uzbek ecosystem also includes Payme, BNPL, insurance, retail SaaS and a joint venture owning OLX Uzbekistan.
The bank provides retail and SME products through mobile applications. As of August 2026 certain non-residents can apply if they hold temporary registration, a PINFL and a local phone number. Deposit, card and credit terms and the applicable protection regime are governed by Uzbek law and the bank's product agreements.
Key parameters of the bank as of August 2026:
| Regulator | Central Bank of Uzbekistan, banking licence since 2020 |
|---|---|
| Parent group | TBC Bank Group PLC (LSE), with EBRD and IFC in the subsidiary's capital |
| Non-resident access | since September 2025: foreign passport, temporary registration, PINFL, local phone number |
| Where signed | bank representative visits confined to Tashkent |
| Deposit entry | from 1,000 soums, up to ten soum deposits per client |
| Deposit rates | up to 20% a year in soums, 5.5–6.5% in dollars, ceiling of $50,000 |
| Scale, August 2026 | 24.2m registered users, 5.8m monthly active, NPL ratio 10.6% |
Group, licence and ecosystem development
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. The consideration paid for the remaining stake was substantially higher than the initial investment; by the time the bank launched, the group already held millions of active wallets.
The banking licence and digital bank followed 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.
In July 2026 the group expanded the ecosystem through a classifieds platform. 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 products are distributed through the mobile application. The deposit range as of August 2026 splits into three types.
| Deposit | Rate | Term and conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed-term soum | up to 20% a year | 3–24 months; with compounding the effective rate reaches 24.35% |
| Odat, open-ended | 13% a year | unlimited withdrawal |
| Dollar | 5.5–6.5% a year | 13–24 months, 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.
| Item | Terms |
|---|---|
| Issue and delivery | first card free, delivery takes up to three days |
| Payments | no bank commission inside the country or abroad |
| Transfers | free in the app and to other banks' cards |
| Cash withdrawal | free at any bank's ATMs within 10m soums a month |
| Cashback | 1% on all purchases, up to 5% with partners |
| Interest on balance | 12% a year on balances over 100,000 soums, as a separate option |
Other banks' withdrawal fees are reimbursed.
Group reporting sets out the product base as follows.
| Product | Base | Activation |
|---|---|---|
| Salom card | over 1.2m cards issued | 82% |
| Osmon credit card | 212,000 cards, ≈10% of the loan portfolio | 91% |
| TBC BNPL | ≈190,000 active users | — |
| TBC Biznes | ≈67,000 clients | — |
Alongside them run Payme payments and transfers, insurance policies and the Lola AI assistant across the whole client base, while TBC Biznes adds digital SME onboarding, payroll projects and lending.
The Uzbek segment's financial results are disclosed in the reports of the listed parent group. 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
A principal local competitor is the Uzum ecosystem.
| March 2026 round | $131.5m at a valuation of $2.3bn, the valuation adding over 50% in seven months |
|---|---|
| Round investors | Omani sovereign funds, Tencent, VR Capital, FinSight Ventures |
| Users | ≈20m |
| 2025 revenue | $691m with net profit of $176m |
| Bank and instalments | 5m bank clients, unsecured Nasiya portfolio of ≈$400m |
| Pre-IPO | $250–300m, pencilled in for the turn of 2026–2027 |
The groups developed from different starting points. 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 groups combine banking, payments, instalment products and commerce services and report more than 20m registered users.
Other market participants include Click, Paynet, Kapitalbank, Anorbank, AVO Bank, Alif and Xazna. 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.
Non-resident onboarding and limitations
The main update for foreigners is that since September 2025 TBC UZ has opened access to non-residents. The applicant needs four things:
- a foreign passport;
- temporary registration in Uzbekistan;
- a PINFL number;
- 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.
A non-resident can consider the account only after satisfying the registration, PINFL, local-phone and identification requirements. High nominal rates on soum deposits carry currency, inflation, tax and transfer risk. Zero-fee statements apply within the product terms and do not exclude charges by other banks, payment systems or currency conversion.
The London listing of the parent group provides access to consolidated reporting, but TBC Bank Uzbekistan is supervised by the Central Bank of Uzbekistan and operates under local law.
Corporate and product structure
The ecosystem developed in stages: 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. The services can direct customers and transactions between one another: 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.
| Net interest margin | 17.2% in the second quarter of 2026, against 6.3% in Georgia |
|---|---|
| Loan portfolio | GEL 2,306m (≈$872m) |
| Group share | ≈7% of the group's lending |
| Portfolio trend | down 6% between June 2025 and March 2026, up 0.4% over the quarter |
A margin like that exists precisely because it covers a high cost of risk: after the contraction the portfolio stabilised.
The capital model is an export of the platform on 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 segment remains materially smaller than the Georgian business and is still subject to higher credit risk.
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.
Q/A
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.