Why Uzbekistan May Be Digital Banking’s Next Big Story

Jun 23

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Digital finance is no longer only about banking apps and payments.

It is becoming a question of infrastructure, trust, customer behaviour, and how financial systems evolve in emerging markets.

In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Nika Kurdiani, CEO of TBC Uzbekistan, joins the show for a sharp conversation on digital banking, AI, open banking, and why Uzbekistan is becoming one of the most interesting financial markets to watch.

Nika explains how TBC built one of the largest digital financial ecosystems in Central Asia, why customer experience matters more than legacy banking scale, and how AI is bringing the relationship manager back into the app.

From cash economies and digital adoption to regulation, ecosystem strategy, and the future of financial services, this episode explores what happens when fast-growing markets leapfrog traditional banking models.

🎙️ In this episode:

• Why Uzbekistan became a major opportunity for digital finance

• How TBC scaled to millions of users in under six years

• Why “cash is not a competitor, it is an opportunity”

• How open banking evolved differently in Uzbekistan

• The strategy behind building a digital financial ecosystem

• Why AI is changing customer relationships in banking

• How TBC built its own AI and language models

• Why trust is the most important currency in finance

⏱️ CHAPTERS

00:00 Trust, AI, and the future of banking
02:37 Why Uzbekistan is attracting investor attention
09:22 Lessons from Kaspi and digital banking growth
11:41 Open banking and interoperability in Uzbekistan
18:18 Building a digital financial ecosystem
25:05 Why AI became a major bet for TBC
33:46 Competition and the financial services flywheel
43:50 Regulation, agility, and emerging markets

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