Research on the digital maturity of business banking apps in Uzbekistan

Digital channels for business in Uzbekistan are growing fast but unevenly. We opened accounts with 20 banks, went through real onboarding and tested an entrepreneur’s key scenarios: payments, loans, cards, analytics, support. Below are the methodology, key findings and leaders by group. The full ranking with scores, a breakdown of each group and recommendations are in the full version of the report.

20

business banking apps

110

parameters assessed

12

functional groups

5

points on each parameter’s scale

Who it is for

• Heads of SME banking at banks in Uzbekistan.
• IT, Data, AI and CX/UX teams, owners of platform initiatives.
• Fintech companies and providers of integrations, payment infrastructure and AI services.
• Industry associations and regulators working on the digital agenda for small business.

Methodology and sample

The core question of the study: how well banks’ digital solutions meet an entrepreneur’s needs — completeness of service, access to key operations, convenience and the level of user experience.

Sample

We selected banks in Uzbekistan that have a mobile app for business and drew up a shortlist of 20 apps. At each bank we opened an account and went through onboarding as a regular client: identification, choosing a plan, first steps in the app.

How the study was conducted

1. Preparation. We defined criteria and scenarios and assembled a team of industry experts and analysts.
2. Opening accounts. We gained access to the products of every bank in the sample and checked identification, plans and the user journey.
3. Scenarios. We performed key operations: transfers, payments, cards, deposits, support requests. Along the way we added scenarios as new tasks emerged.
4. Best practices. We compared the solutions with global SME banking leaders and recorded strong patterns.
5. Scoring. We rated the banks against the criteria, added up the scores, built a ranking and identified growth areas.

How the scores were calculated

A researcher checked each parameter manually, through the app interface or a support request, and gave a score on a 5-point scale with a comment. Each parameter has its own minimum and maximum criteria. For example, “online consultation when opening an account”: 1 point means the client figures everything out alone, 5 points means a consultation with a manager is available at any step.

Scores within a group add up to the bank’s rating for that group, and the ratings for all groups add up to the total score. We assessed only the visible part of maturity: what the client gets in the app.

12 assessment groups

• Terms of servicedigital onboarding, ease of sign-in, support
• Accounts and paymentspayment tools and international transactions
• Financing and loansavailability and speed of business lending
• Cards and acquiringaccepting and processing payments
• Integration and automationconnections to systems that handle typical business tasks
• Analytics and reportingdetail and customisation of data on transactions and cash flows
• Role managementaccess rights for different employees
• Data securityprotection of account data
• Education and information supportcourses, news, B2B marketplaces, consultations, government programmes
• Business servicespayroll, counterparty checks and more
• Regional adaptationlocal context, such as cards from different banks
• Clarity and conveniencesimplicity, speed, a clear interface

Key findings

The digital maturity of business banking in Uzbekistan is still below the average for Central Asia and the CIS. All five hypotheses we started with were confirmed:

1. Most banks use template solutions rather than building their own around client needs and positioning.
2. Most apps lack features for running a business systematically.
3. A shared technology core behind many apps limits the choice of services for business clients.
4. Retail and business banking are digitised unevenly.
5. Despite digital private banks and neobanks, traditional banks still dominate the market.

The market is developing unevenly

Some banks’ interfaces remain at the level of legacy solutions, while others already run modern, well-designed products. The gap in maturity and quality of service for business clients is wide.

Where the growth areas are

• User experience. Some apps are responsive and convenient; others are more a set of features than a service.
• Payments versus everything else. Banks make high-volume operations simpler and faster, while other services lag behind.
• The “mid-quality trap”. Core services are stable, but there is not enough technological maturity for AI solutions and Open Banking.
• Lending. Far from all banks offer online loan applications and assessment.
• Integrations. Only a few banks offer full integration with external systems; businesses handle many operations manually.
• Analytics. Most are limited to basic reports, with no in-depth analytics, automatic calculations or dashboards.
• Roles and security. Basic features are in place but minimally developed.
• Regions. Many solutions do not account for local specifics and technical constraints outside cities.
• Non-financial services. Training, consulting and B2B services are barely developed.

Leaders by group

The top three apps in each of the 12 groups. The complete ranking of all 20 banks with scores is in the full report.

PDF92 pages

What’s inside the full report

• Complete ranking of 20 banks: scores for each of the 12 groups and 110 criteria.
• Breakdown of each group: screen examples, strong solutions and growth areas.
• Comparison with global SME banking leaders: Revolut, Monzo, Wise, DBS, Starling, Square.
• Benchmarks to 2030: AI services, Open Banking, a new product model.
• Recommendations: what a bank should start doing now.

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