BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 21
By Klavdiya Romakayeva - Trend:
Some 30 out of 32 banks operating in Uzbekistan have increased the number of plastic cards, Trend reports with reference to the press service of Uzbekistan’s Central Bank (CBU).
According to the bank, the total number of plastic cards in circulation in Uzbekistan as of July 1 reached 23.8 million, which is almost 640,000 cards more than a month ago.
The CBU said that most of all new cards were opened by the Uzbek people in the Iranian Saderat bank. The number of cards in circulation at the Iranian bank almost quadrupled - from 120,890 to 475,380. A month earlier, the bank showed a 120-fold increase in this indicator.
The second and third places are held by Khalk Bank and Aloqabank. These two banks increased the number of valid bank cards by 99,300 and 36,270, respectively. The number of cards decreased only in two banks - Qishloq Qurilish Bank and Agrobank, which had 46,970 and 29,700 cards less, respectively.
Earlier it was reported that in January the number of bank cards in circulation in Uzbekistan decreased by almost one million. The reduction in the total number of cards in circulation continued in February. Then their number decreased by 2.55 million.
Also, in May it was reported that the volume of cash in circulation in Uzbekistan as of May 1, 2021 amounted to 23.5 trillion soums ($2.2 billion) or 22 percent of the total money supply.
According to a brief review published by the CBU, an increase in the turnover of cash through bank tellers does not mean an increase in the amount of cash in circulation as part of the money supply.
“This is primarily due to the increase in the turnover of money through the banking system, which may also be due to the increased role of banks in cash transactions,” the CBU said.
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