Uzbekistan wants to introduce digital currency as it looks up to Chinese and Russian experience in this field

Mamarizo Nurmuratov, chairman of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, shared his thoughts about digital currency.

The Central Bank of Uzbekistan is studying the international experience to introduce a national digital currency, according to Mamarizo Nurmuratov, head of the bank.

As the official noted, representatives of the Central Bank have already been to China, where they discussed this issue. The regulator is now reviewing the pros of such a currency, Nurmuranov highlighted.

During a press conference, he told reporters that he took part in a financial summit organized by the Central Bank of Russia and devoted to a set of issues, including digital currency. Currently, the Bank of Russia is launching a pilot project with the participation of 13 commercial banks.

«Do you know why Russia and other countries are introducing digital currency? They want regular consumers to pay fewer fees for transactions. In this regard, I should say that this is not a point for us, thanks to the president’s new edict.»

In Uzbekistan, a fee for buying a good or service is on a payment receiver, not a buyer. That is why local consumers do not bear the costs associated with such transactions. This is different for the vast majority of other countries in the world.

«When I spoke with representatives of the Russian banking sector, they told me that this figure is quite high. In some cases, it reaches 3% to 4%,» Nurmuratov said.

From this point of view, a digital currency is not something very attractive for Uzbekistan, at least now. In addition, as digital currency is usually kept by central banks, which also support transactions with such a currency, commercial banks may face the outflow of deposits, Nurmuratov said.

Although Uzbekistan is thinking about digital currency, there is no timeline for the move.