Russian QIWI payment service is preparing to leave the Uzbek marketб the company said in a statement. The QIWI Uzbekistan app will stop working on December 18. Users were advised to spend the money in the wallet or withdraw to their bank cards.
From November 16, the company will begin charging a commission of 75 thousand soums daily for storing money on the balance sheet, since QIWI “cannot hold [its] clients’ money.” After December 18, one can withdraw money from wallet only upon request.
The company cited restrictions on international transfers and payments introduced by the Central Bank for payment services in September as the main reason for the closure. Almost 90% of clients used the QIWI Uzbekistan wallet specifically for international payments.
In August, the Central Bank set limitations on a number of operations for QIWI Uzbekistan. In addition to cross-border payments, money transfers to HUMO and Uzcard cards were suspended.
