Before you start

PINFL (personal identification number)
Passport plus a certified translation
Local mobile number for OTP
Evidence of your basis of stay and, for larger sums, source of funds

Step-by-step

1
Get your PINFL first
The PINFL is Uzbekistan's personal identification number and functions as the identity key across banking, payroll, tax and state services. It is obtained through the my.gov.uz services for foreigners. As with the IIN in Kazakhstan and the Public Services Number in Armenia, everything downstream assumes you already have it — so this is the first errand, not a later one.
OnlineWho: All applicantsDaysNominal
2
Get a local SIM for the OTP
Banking and payment apps authenticate to a +998 number. Buy a SIM from Ucell, Beeline, Uzmobile or Mobiuz with your passport before the bank appointment. See the SIM guide.
In personWho: All applicants15 minutesLow
3
Open the account in branch and take both a local and an international card
Kapitalbank, Ipoteka Bank, TBC Uzbekistan and the newer digital banks all handle foreign customers. Bring your passport with a certified translation, your PINFL, your registration confirmation and your basis of stay. Ask specifically for BOTH a domestic Uzcard or Humo card and an international Visa or Mastercard — the domestic rails are what most local merchants, utilities and apps run on, and the international card is what works abroad. Many people leave with only one and find half the economy inaccessible.
In personWho: All applicantsOne visit, sometimes twoFree to open; card fees vary
4
Install Click, Payme or Uzum for daily payments
The payment apps built on the domestic rails handle utilities, mobile top-ups, transfers and QR payments at merchants, and they are how ordinary life is paid for. Link them to the domestic card. Cash remains common at bazaars and with small vendors, so keep some som on you, but the app layer covers almost everything else.
Mobile appWho: AllImmediate once the account is liveFree

Documents you’ll need

Passport plus certified translation
PINFL
Registration at place of stay confirmation
Local mobile number
Employment, IT Visa or business documentation, and source-of-funds evidence for larger sums

Things most newcomers don’t know

Uzbekistan runs two card systems and you need a card on each — the domestic rails and the international ones do different jobs.

Uzcard and Humo are the domestic networks that utilities, payment apps and most local merchants use. Visa and Mastercard work in hotels, international sites and abroad. A foreigner who leaves the branch with only an international card discovers they cannot pay a utility bill or use Click properly; one who leaves with only a domestic card cannot buy anything outside the country. Ask for both at the first appointment.

The PINFL is the real gate, and it is separate from your visa — get it before anything else.

This is the same structural pattern as Kazakhstan's IIN and Armenia's Public Services Number: a national identity number that every other system keys off. People try to open an account, sign a lease or start payroll first and are sent away. In Uzbekistan the PINFL is obtainable through my.gov.uz, which makes it easier than the Kazakh equivalent, but it is no less compulsory.

Source: my.gov.uz

Currency was liberalised in 2017 and the som is convertible — but 'liberalised' does not mean 'undocumented'.

Before 2017 Uzbekistan ran a controlled rate with a large black market, and older guidance still reflects that world. Today you can convert freely at banks and exchange points. What remains is bank documentation on significant cross-border movements, which is normal AML practice rather than a hangover of the old regime — but people who read the liberalisation as the end of all paperwork get stuck on their first large transfer.

The UP-180 special tax regime requires an account at an authorised Uzbek bank or a wallet on a licensed crypto exchange — the banking step is part of the tax election.

The decree names the account requirement explicitly alongside the USD 50,000 fee. Anyone considering that regime should understand that it locks a banking relationship into the structure, and should ask which banks are authorised for the purpose before paying anything.

Source: Presidential Decree UP-180, 4 October 2025

Common mistakes to avoid

Going to the bank before getting the PINFL
Leaving the branch with only an international card and being unable to use Click, Payme or pay utilities
Leaving with only a domestic Uzcard or Humo card and having nothing that works abroad
Assuming the 2017 currency liberalisation removed documentation requirements on large transfers
Arriving without a certified translation of your passport

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.