More than 60 thousand non-residents opened accounts in Uzbekistan in 2022, placing almost $900 million

According to the report of “Gazeta.uz”, the number of non-residents who opened accounts in Uzbekistan in connection with the geopolitical situation in 2022 exceeded 60,000, they placed funds equivalent to $892 million on them, Chairman of the Central Bank Mamarizo Nurmuratov said.

The number of non-residents who opened accounts in Uzbekistan in 2022 due to the geopolitical situation exceeded 60,000, Chairman of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan Mamarizo Nurmuratov said at a plenary session of the Senate on June 2.

He also noted that non-residents placed funds equivalent to $892 million in their bank accounts.

The head of the Central Bank provided this information when answering a question about why the volume of foreign currency deposits increased by 9% last year.

The head of the Central Bank explained that this situation is not related to the level of public confidence in banks, but to the fact that non-residents have increased the number of accounts opened in banks in Uzbekistan.

“The sharp increase in the placement of deposits by non-residents — almost 9.5 times — led, in turn, to an increase in [volume] of foreign currency deposits before demand,” said Mamarizo Nurmuratov.

Spot reminds that since April 2022, the interest of Russian citizens in traveling to Uzbekistan has increased significantly, including due to “card tourism” against the backdrop of the withdrawal of international payment systems from Russia. At that time, it was quite easy to open an international card, but since the beginning of autumn, local banks began to tighten the conditions for opening accounts by non-residents.

For example, from September 12, non-residents can open accounts with Kapitalbank only if they are officially employed, study at local universities, or continuously stay in the country for more than 15 calendar days before the day they apply to the bank.