Why is this important
A 38% increase is the result of the ban on cash on buses from January 2025. Bank cards increased by 175% due to convenience and cashback. QR codes have soared by 529% in the metro — young people and tourists prefer mobile payments. The 66% drop in paper tickets indicates the transition to a figure. Tashkent dominates — 88% of all transactions in the country.
What happened
- 490.1 million transactions for 9 months (+38% compared to 2024);
- Bank cards — 261.8 million, 53% of payments (+175%);
- Transport cards — 160.9 million, 33% (+58%);
- QR in the metro — 11.1 million (+529%);
- QR in buses — 15.6 million (+428%);
- Paper metro tickets — 18.6 million (-66%);
- Virtual ATTO cards — 4.9 million (+283%).
Tashkent is dominant
Capital’s buses — 300 million transactions (+31%), metro – 132.4 million (+10%). Together, this is 88% of all payments in the country’s public transport. Developed infrastructure and a population of 3 million provides leadership.
Regions are growing
Samarkand showed explosive growth — from 2.9 million to 15.2 million transactions. Namangan grew from 1.2 thousand to 8.3 million, Fergana — from 125.7 thousand to 8.7 million. Andijan, Jizzakh, and Angren also demonstrate active implementation of cashless payments.
Cash ban
From January 2025, cash is prohibited on buses across the country. Bank cards, transport cards, QR codes, mobile applications are accepted. In the metro, cash is still accepted through paper tickets, but their share has fallen by 66%.
QR codes — growth leader
Mobile QR payments increased by 529% in the metro and 428% in buses. The convenience, absence of the need for a physical card, integration with ATTO, Click, Payme attract young people and tourists.
Context
490.1 million transactions — an average of 1.8 million per day. Bank cards are growing fastest (+175%) thanks to contactless payments and cashback. Paper tickets are in the past — the metro plans to completely abandon them by 2026. The goal is a unified transport card for the entire country and a complete transition to cashless payments.
