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Uzbekistan’s Central Bank has overhauled the rules governing its financial-services regulatory sandbox, introducing three distinct testing tracks and opening participation to a broader range of companies, including foreign legal entities. The Ministry of Justice registered the new regulation on 19 October 2026 under number 3956.
The updated framework organises sandbox activity into three separate streams: Innovation, Acceleration and Technology Cooperation. Each stream provides a dedicated channel through which financial services and solutions can be tested under a special legal regime — a structure designed to give regulators and participants clearer boundaries and objectives during trials.
Who Can Now Apply
The revision meaningfully widens the pool of eligible participants. Non-resident legal entities may now submit applications as co-applicants, a change that could attract foreign fintech firms seeking a regulated entry point into the Uzbek market. The rules also extend eligibility to legal entities whose activities are supervised by state bodies other than the Central Bank itself, removing a constraint that had previously limited participation to firms already within the bank’s direct regulatory perimeter.
Consumer Disclosure and Pre-Application Support
Two procedural additions stand out for their practical implications. Companies intending to introduce a new financial service will be able to seek formal consultative support from the Central Bank before lodging an application — a mechanism the document terms pre-application support. The provision is intended to help prospective participants prepare more complete submissions and reduce the risk of rejection on technical grounds.
The regulation also imposes a transparency obligation on sandbox participants: any advertising or promotional material for a service being tested must explicitly state that the service is offered on a trial basis. The requirement is aimed at ensuring consumers understand they are engaging with products that have not yet received full regulatory clearance.
A separate provision establishes a dedicated registry of legal entities operating within the sandbox, creating a formal record of who is testing what under the special legal regime at any given time.
Taken together, the changes represent a structural expansion of a framework that Uzbekistan has been developing as part of broader efforts to modernise its financial sector and attract technology-driven investment.