TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, October 26. Citizens of Uzbekistan will be able to remotely open accounts in Russian banks, Trend reports.
Cabinet of Ministers of the Russian Federation recently granted approval to a comprehensive list of 25 countries, including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldova, along with several other nations.
The approval allows citizens of these countries to undergo remote identification procedures, enabling them to engage in various financial transactions within Russia.
In July 2023, access to the Russian financial market was simplified for foreign citizens. In particular, Russian credit institutions have been granted the right to open accounts for foreign companies and citizens in a remote format.
To do this, banks need to conclude an agreement with a foreign financial institution that will carry out customer identification. After that, foreigners will be able to remotely open an account or deposit in a Russian bank.
Meanwhile, Central Bank of Uzbekistan has ordered local payment services to suspend cross-border transactions in September 2023.
The decision of the Central Bank to suspend cross-border operations is intended to protect the local fin-tech sector from risks of the international financial system. The bank said that obtaining of special licenses by Uzbek fin-tech companies in order to provide services in foreign markets is necessary.
Volume of cross-border remittances from Uzbekistan amounted to $2.1 billion as of 2022. In 2022, Uzbekistan received remittances worth record-breaking $16.9 billion, which is 2.1 times more than in 2021.