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Digital payments have become routine for small and medium businesses across Uzbekistan, but a new study by Visa suggests the country’s SME sector has reached a plateau: the majority of firms accept and make digital transactions, yet most still manage the financial and operational consequences of those transactions through separate, disconnected tools.
The findings come from Visa’s Pay and Get Paid 2026 report, produced with the support of Ipak Yuli Bank. The study was based on in-person interviews with 249 SME owners and financial decision-makers in Uzbekistan, conducted between March and April 2026, as part of a broader survey spanning 11 markets. The Uzbekistan data offers one of the more detailed recent snapshots of how small businesses in the country actually manage money day to day.
The Integration Gap
The central finding is a significant mismatch between interest and practice. While 55% of surveyed SMEs said they would find a single platform that combines payments with core business operations attractive, only 37% currently use such an integrated solution. The remaining majority continue to handle payments through one system and manage accounting, compliance, and administration through others — or manually.
The report frames this not as a failure of digital adoption — which it says is already well established — but as an unfinished transition. Uzbekistan’s SMEs have completed what the study describes as the first phase of digitisation. The next phase, connecting payment data to the broader work of running a business, has yet to reach most firms.
Where Businesses Lose Time
The survey asked businesses to identify their most pressing operational difficulties. Tax and regulatory compliance was cited by 23% of respondents, making it the most commonly reported burden. Labour-intensive administrative work was named by 17%, and maintaining financial records by 16%. Taken together, these three categories — all areas where integrated platforms can reduce manual effort — account for the most common friction points in daily SME operations.
The pattern suggests that the problem is not a lack of digital tools in general, but a lack of tools that connect. When a business processes a payment through one system and then re-enters the same transaction data into a separate accounting or tax-reporting tool, the efficiency gains from digital payments are partially offset by the administrative overhead that follows.
Why Firms Have Not Adopted Integrated Platforms
Among businesses that do not currently use integrated tools, the report identifies several reasons for non-adoption. Fifteen percent said their business was too small to need such a solution, and another 15% said they were simply unaware that integrated tools existed. Eight percent said manual processes were adequate for their needs.
The report notes that broader uptake will depend on how well SMEs come to understand the practical benefits of integrated tools, and whether those tools are perceived as accessible and scalable for businesses at different stages of development — not only for larger or more sophisticated firms.
Early Adopters Report Gains
Among the 37% of Uzbek SMEs already using an integrated platform, the results are broadly positive. The study records a 70% satisfaction rate among this group, and 55% of integrated-platform users reported measurable efficiency improvements, including reductions in the time and effort required to manage business operations.
The report also points to a secondary benefit that extends beyond individual businesses. Integrated platforms generate richer data on cash flows and business activity, which financial institutions can use to better assess risk and design credit products suited to SME needs. Where businesses currently lack a consolidated financial record, lenders have limited visibility into their actual performance — a constraint that affects both access to credit and its terms.
Perspectives From Visa and Ipak Yuli Bank
Behzod Abdurakhmonov, Visa’s Senior Director for Uzbekistan, described the shift in how value is created for SMEs in the digital payments ecosystem. In his view, the benefit of a payment transaction increasingly lies not in the transaction itself but in what it enables afterward — better data, more relevant financial products, and more personalised support from banks and payment providers. He said Visa’s role is to help financial organisations turn payment infrastructure into connected platforms that generate value for their SME clients.
Natalia Zatvornyuk, head of transactional products and processes at Ipak Yuli Bank, pointed to the gap between expressed interest and actual use as evidence that availability alone is not the issue. She argued that the relevant question is whether digital tools genuinely reduce the daily burden on business owners — covering payments, cash flow monitoring, and other financial tasks — and whether they adapt as businesses grow. She described the bank’s role as understanding its clients’ businesses well enough to offer tools that match their current needs.
Study Scope
The Pay and Get Paid 2026 report covers how SMEs manage payments and day-to-day operations, and examines demand for integrated solutions across 11 markets. The Uzbekistan component involved 249 companies, surveyed through in-person interviews with owners and financial decision-makers between March and April 2026. The report does not specify the sectoral breakdown of the firms surveyed, nor does it name the specific platforms currently available in the local market.