Uzbek President Islam Karimov approved in late November a programme on priority directions of further reforming and increasing sustainability of financial-banking system of the country in 2011-2015.

In line with the programme, Uzeltehsanoat Association, Uzbekistan Banking Association and Central Bank of Uzbekistan will develop complex of measures on ensuring localization of production of banking payment cards and POS-terminals for 2011-2015.

The document noted that the volume of production of localized banking payment cards will make up at least 500,000 units a year. The volume of POS-terminals production was not indicated.

At the same time, Association, Uzbekistan Banking Association and Central Bank of Uzbekistan, as well as commercial banks will develop complex measures on expanding system of cashless settlement with use of banking payment cards for 2011-2015. The programme, which will be developed by second quarter of 2011, will envisage increasing the volume of banking payment cards issue by 1.5 times in 2011-2015.

The Government of Uzbekistan also entrusted interested bodies to adopt measures on speeding up procedures on payments processing due to eliminating interim units of information processing from department and branches of commercial banks to processing centers at head offices of banks, Single National Processing Center and clearance bank.

Commercial banks of Uzbekistan issued to circulation over 7.5 million banking payments cards at the end of the third quarter of 2010. Some 64,976 POS-terminals have been installed at trade and service points.

The sum of transactions with banking payment cards rose twice in January-September 2010 compared to the same period of 2009.