TBC Uzbekistan, the leading digital banking ecosystem in Central Asia, announces the launch of a new lending product for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and individual entrepreneurs.
The new product will be incorporated into TBC Business, launched in December 2024 to offer a fully-digital banking service for SMEs driving growth in Central Asia’s most populous nation.
The expanded TBC Business suite will provide SMEs with digital access to short-term business loans, which are available up to a limit of 300 mln Uzbek Som (~$23,000) and for a duration of up to 3 years. SME lending will initially be launched in Friends & Family mode, with full rollout to follow shortly.
It is set to transform the growth potential of SMEs, the backbone of Uzbekistan’s economy, by providing quick and easy access to the funding they need for further development. These loans require only minimal customer data, with no need to provide any collateral.
All other data required to confirm loan eligibility and amount are sourced digitally by leveraging TBC’s technological infrastructure for automatic assessment, scoring and underwriting, powered by the country’s existing data-rich environment. This TBC product, differentiated by fast loan approval and disbursal times, will set a new standard for SME lending in Uzbekistan. Business customers will be able to apply and receive the loan in only a few minutes.
Nika Kurdiani, CEO of TBC Uzbekistan, commented: “The expansion of our business offering reiterates our commitment to raising the benchmark for financial services in Uzbekistan, as we build the region’s leading digital banking ecosystem. Following on from the success of TBC Business banking services, we are proud to bring another important offering to the market, providing SMEs with the opportunity to access loans through a fully-digital, hassle-free interface. SMEs are an increasingly key driver of economic growth in Uzbekistan, and we are well positioned to support their further development by allocating significant resources to growing our business offering.
We expect SME lending to account for a material share of our total loan portfolio in Uzbekistan by 2025, given encouraging early results from TBC Business and significant untapped demand for a fully digital SME lending offering.”
This move comes as TBC Uzbekistan expands the product offering available within its digital banking ecosystem, which reaches 18.4 million unique registered users. Alongside TBC Business, the digital banking powerhouse also launched Osmon credit card and Salom debit card last year. These products are already playing a key role in tapping new customer segments and diversifying revenue streams, with the newly launched lending product set to further accelerate this effect.
Uzbekistan is a rapidly growing market, with a population of 37 million, of which 59% are under 30, driving significant demand for digital financial services. As the largest digital banking player in the country, TBC Uzbekistan is well-positioned to capitalise on Uzbekistan's growing and digitally savvy market. Its ecosystem, which is part of London-listed TBC Bank Group, includes TBC Bank Uzbekistan (TBC UZ), a mobile-only bank; Payme, a digital payments app for individuals and small businesses; and Payme nasiya (Payme instalments), a fast-growing instalment credit business.