Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan

On June 12, within the framework of the Tashkent International Investment Forum, organized under the coordination of the Ministry of Investments, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, a panel session was held on the topic “Fintech and E-commerce: Creating a New Economy.”

The session explored how innovations in financial technology are reshaping Uzbekistan’s business environment and what new opportunities they are opening for investors.

Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, shared insights into Russia’s experience with fintech and the platform economy. He emphasized that much of Russia’s fintech success came from a flexible regulatory approach that accompanied the industry’s growth rather than trying to preempt it. This allowed regulators to respond to risks as they emerged.

Nikolay Seleznev, Co-founder and Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer at Uzum, stated that Uzbekistan is at the beginning of major transformations in fintech and e-commerce.

“This is just the start of a process that could transform the everyday lives of millions of Uzbeks across the country. A prime example is the integration of payment systems and e-commerce services into a single platform that delivers a seamless user experience. We offer millions of products with guaranteed next-day delivery in more than 400 cities and towns. Customers have access to convenient payment methods, including the ability to buy in installments, which provides access to both credit and quality products,” said Seleznev.

Mehdi Paryavi, Founder & Chairman, International Data Center Authority (IDCA), emphasized that the digital economy is fundamentally built on digital infrastructure, and the key drivers of that infrastructure are data centers.

“Data centers are the modern equivalent of oil refineries. In the past, countries exported crude oil. Later, they began building refineries to sell gasoline rather than buy it back. Today, governments have limited energy resources. Instead of simply exporting energy, they can use it to power data centers. In an open economy with international partnerships, these data factories generate the most valuable commodity of the modern age: data,” said Paryavi.

He noted that the modern economy depends on the ability to generate and process data, which drives global innovation. In the data center industry, both scale and quality matter. Among the key challenges he identified were energy supply, skilled labor, and policy frameworks.

“Everything depends on strategy. A clear policy is needed to attract investment, distribute energy wisely, prioritize data centers, and develop human capital. This is especially important for Uzbekistan, which has a young and rapidly growing population. By investing in people, the country can build a successful digital economy,” Paryavi added.

Artem Feoktistov, Director of Payment Gateway and Loyalty Programs at Wildberries & Russ, said that the company is now an international digital platform operating in 10 countries. In each market, Wildberries focuses on innovation, user experience, and support for local businesses, while also accounting for legal and business environments.

“Uzbekistan is our priority market. Here we see not only enormous potential but also an impressive level of project execution. The reason is the young and economically active population, which drives strong demand for digital and innovative solutions. It is encouraging to see the government acknowledge and support this trend through its 2030 strategy. The country also has a fintech-friendly regulatory environment, which makes Uzbekistan an excellent jurisdiction for implementing innovation,” Feoktistov said.

Stanislav Skvirsky, CEO of Payme, spoke about the transformation of the banking sector under the influence of digital technologies. According to him, clients make a choice in favor of neo-banks: if a user has used a digital bank even once, they will continue to do so. Stanislav Skvirsky also added that TBC Bank (Payme is part of TBC Uzbekistan) has been operating as a fully digital bank for five years: without branches and with a mobile-first approach.

“We observe that users prefer to make all payments, transfers, get loans, save funds - without leaving home, without standing in line.  Therefore, we sincerely believe that the future belongs to digital banks, especially in Uzbekistan. Why? Because there's already access to data, an open API provided by the processing center. 75% of the population has smartphones and internet. All this creates excellent conditions for the development of the digital economy and the release of new products through apps and digital banks,” Stanislav shared.

The panel session offered a dynamic exchange of ideas about the role of fintech and e-commerce in driving economic growth. Speakers also highlighted how these sectors are creating new business opportunities and shared detailed insights into Uzbekistan’s prospects in the fintech space and the new directions opening up for investors.