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Banking
How to open a company bank account in Uzbekistan
A company registered in Uzbekistan, even one wholly foreign-owned, opens its accounts under the same rules as a local company. The bank needs an application, two signature cards and the signatory’s identity document, and must open the account by the next working day. What foreign owners need to plan for is who signs in person, how the bank traces the owners and the currency rules once the account is live.
Quick answer
Bank account requirements in Uzbekistan in one view
- Register the company first. Banks open accounts after state registration and may not ask for the charter or the registration certificate.
- Bring an application, two signature cards and the identity document of the person who will sign payments.
- Expect the bank to trace the owners to every individual who holds 10% or more.
- Plan for the signatory to attend. Fully remote opening is limited to companies with Uzbek-resident founders and to IT Park residents, and a director living abroad signs in person.
- The soum account comes first. Foreign currency accounts follow on a simple application.
Key facts
- Governing act
- Central Bank instruction, registered on 8 February 2023, No. 3420
- Bank’s deadline
- Next working day after a complete file
- Owners identified
- Every individual with 10% or more
- Commercial banks
- 35 on the Central Bank register, September 2026
- Export proceeds
- Home within 180 days, no compulsory sale
The banks
Which bank can a company use in Uzbekistan?
TashkentA company chooses its bank freely. The Central Bank’s register listed 35 commercial banks on 3 September 2026. A bank must conclude an account contract on its published terms, but it may refuse a client on anti-money-laundering grounds, and it must refuse when it cannot complete its checks (Civil Code, article 775; account instruction, paragraph 7; Law on Countering Money Laundering, article 15).
We apply at Kapitalbank, including through its Uzum Business app, and at a second bank if Kapitalbank declines. Kapitalbank publishes free opening and closing of main and secondary accounts, and monthly plans for small companies from UZS 100,000 under the Start Business tariff of 3 August 2026; its corporate plans cost more. Check the tariff for your company type before you sign.
A company can keep its main account at one bank and open secondary accounts at another, but each new bank receives the full set of opening documents (account instruction, paragraphs 19 and 20).
In person or remote
Can a foreign-owned company open an account remotely?
Only in some cases. The account instruction lets banks open accounts remotely for three kinds of client, the third added on 12 November 2025, where remote identification to FATF standards is available (paragraph 8). Everyone else submits the documents in person, and the people named on the signature card sign it in front of a bank employee (paragraphs 6 and 30).
| Company | Remote opening | Who signs |
|---|---|---|
| Founders all Uzbek residents | Yes, including at state registration | Signatories living in Uzbekistan can be identified digitally |
| IT Park resident with a non-resident founder | Yes, since 12 November 2025 | A director living abroad still signs in person: digital identification covers only people living in Uzbekistan |
| Any other foreign-owned company | No | The people on the signature card sign it in front of a bank employee |
A wholly foreign-owned Uzbek company is still a resident under the Currency Law (article 6), so it opens accounts under the ordinary rules; what it lacks is the remote route. In practice that means one visit to Tashkent by the director, or a director who is already there. In our Standard and Premium packages our temporary director in Tashkent signs for the company, so the founder need not travel. Kapitalbank also offers corporate clients a visit by its specialist to sign the contract and hand over the electronic signature.
The registration form now has an option to open a bank account at the same time. For a company with a non-resident founder it does not make the opening remote: the registration rules limit remote opening at registration to companies with resident founders and to individual entrepreneurs (registration regulation, paragraph 19).
Documents
What documents does the bank require?
The account instruction lists three documents for a resident company’s soum and currency accounts, and forbids banks to ask for more (paragraphs 6 and 11):
- An application to open the account
- Two signature cards with the specimen signatures of the people who will sign payments
- The signatory’s identity document: a biometric passport, an ID card or a new-style driving licence, as the original or its electronic version from the Single Portal or the Ijtimoiy karta app
The bank does not need the charter or the registration certificate: it takes the registration data and the founders from the state registration system. The anti-money-laundering rules add the real work. The bank must identify every individual who owns 10% or more of the company or ultimately controls it, and from 9 August 2026 it must understand the ownership and control structure (internal control rules, paragraph 27). For a foreign corporate founder that means tracing the chain up to individuals, so prepare an ownership chart and the founder’s register extract before you apply.
Expect the bank to ask for translations of documents in a foreign language. If it cannot complete its checks, the Law on Countering Money Laundering requires it to refuse (article 15).
Since 10 July 2025 a bank that finds a nominee director or shareholder must report both the nominee and the person behind them to the financial intelligence unit.
Currency
Soum and foreign currency accounts: what are the rules?
The first soum account a company opens after registration is its main account; every later account, in soums or in foreign currency, is secondary (account instruction, paragraph 3). Any resident company may hold foreign currency accounts, not only an enterprise with foreign investment (Currency Law, article 12).
| Rule | What it means for the company |
|---|---|
| Payments inside Uzbekistan | In soums. Prices may not be pegged to a foreign currency. |
| Buying foreign currency | By order to your bank, stating the purpose. The bank decides by the next banking day, and the currency is used within 7 banking days or sold back. |
| Export proceeds | No compulsory sale since 2017, but they must reach the account in Uzbekistan. A deal unsettled after 180 days becomes a capital operation, and fines from 5% follow after a further 45 days, or 90 for small businesses. |
| Foreign trade contracts | Entered in the Customs Committee’s E-kontrakt system. The bank checks the contract there before paying an advance. |
| Dividends to foreign owners | Transferred abroad freely once taxes are paid. |
| Accounts abroad | Only with a presidential or government decision, and reported every quarter. |
Sources: Currency Law, articles 9, 11, 12 and 15; Central Bank currency rules, paragraphs 6 and 23 to 29; foreign trade monitoring regulation, paragraphs 1 and 11; Law on Investments, article 17. The Law on Investments also gives enterprises with foreign investment a right to accounts abroad (article 51), which sits uneasily with the Currency Law; take advice before relying on it.
Without a company
Can a foreigner open a bank account in Uzbekistan without a company?
- 01
A personal account
A foreign individual can open a personal account in soums or foreign currency with an identity document, a document confirming their stay and a personal identification number (PINFL). The bank may also ask for three months’ registration and proof of work, study or income.
- 02
A foreign company with no Uzbek entity
Only in listed cases, such as a permanent establishment, a non-commercial representative office or a participant in exchange trading, with notarised or consular-certified constituent documents. The bank has 15 days.
- 03
Foreign staff of IT Park residents
Since 1 November 2025 those who obtained a PINFL through an Uzbek consulate abroad can open accounts and virtual cards remotely.
- 04
Selling from abroad
A foreign company that only sells into Uzbekistan is paid to its own bank abroad under the contract and needs no account in Uzbekistan.
For anything more, register a company. As a resident, an Uzbek LLC opens accounts under the ordinary rules, whoever owns it (Currency Law, articles 6 and 13; account instruction, paragraphs 16 and 17).
Mistakes
Five mistakes with a company bank account in Uzbekistan
Most of them come from treating the account as a formality that follows registration.
- 01
Planning a fully remote opening
Unless the founders are Uzbek residents, or the company is an IT Park resident whose signatories live in Uzbekistan, the people on the signature card sign it in front of a bank employee. Plan the trip, or a director in Tashkent.
- 02
Sending a structure the bank cannot trace
The bank must reach every individual who owns 10% or more, and must refuse if it cannot. Send the ownership chain with the application, not after the first question.
- 03
Using a nominee without saying so
Banks report nominee directors and shareholders, and the people behind them, to the financial intelligence unit. Name the real owner.
- 04
Expecting to pay local suppliers in dollars
Payments inside Uzbekistan are made in soums. A currency account is for foreign trade and for holding export earnings.
- 05
Leaving export proceeds abroad
Export earnings must come into the account in Uzbekistan. After 180 days an unsettled deal becomes a capital operation, and fines follow.
Questions
Questions about bank accounts in Uzbekistan
Short answers, each with the rule behind it.
Ask us something elseWhat documents are needed to open a company bank account in Uzbekistan?
An application, two signature cards and the identity document of the person who will sign payments. The bank may not ask for the charter or the registration certificate, but under the anti-money-laundering rules it must identify every individual who owns 10% or more of the company, so expect questions about the ownership chain.
Can a foreigner open a company bank account in Uzbekistan remotely?
Only in some cases. Remote opening is allowed for companies whose founders are Uzbek residents, for individual entrepreneurs and, since 12 November 2025, for IT Park residents with a non-resident founder. For any other foreign-owned company, and for any director living abroad, the people on the signature card sign it in front of a bank employee.
Can a foreigner open a bank account in Uzbekistan?
Yes, a personal one. A foreign individual can open an account in soums or foreign currency with an identity document, a document confirming their stay and a personal identification number (PINFL), and the bank may also ask for three months’ registration and proof of work, study or income. A business needs an Uzbek company, which opens accounts under the ordinary rules.
How long does it take to open a business bank account in Uzbekistan?
The bank must open the account no later than the next working day after it receives a complete set of documents; for non-resident companies and individuals the limit is 15 days. Its anti-money-laundering checks can still lead to further questions or a refusal.
Can an Uzbek company hold a US dollar account?
Yes. Any resident company may open foreign currency accounts, not only an enterprise with foreign investment. They are secondary accounts, opened after the soum main account, and payments inside Uzbekistan must still be made in soums.
Do exporters in Uzbekistan have to sell their foreign currency earnings?
No. Compulsory sale was abolished in 2017. Export proceeds must, however, be credited to the company’s account in Uzbekistan, and a deal unsettled 180 days after the buyer’s obligation arose is treated as a capital operation, with fines after a further grace period.
Which banks open accounts for foreign-owned companies in Uzbekistan?
Any of the 35 commercial banks on the Central Bank register may. A bank must conclude an account contract on its published terms, but it may refuse on anti-money-laundering grounds. We apply at Kapitalbank, including through its Uzum Business app, and at a second bank if Kapitalbank declines.
Can an Uzbek company have a bank account abroad?
Only where a presidential or government decision or an international treaty allows it, and the company must report such accounts, with balances and turnover, every quarter. The Law on Investments gives enterprises with foreign investment a right to accounts abroad, which sits uneasily with the Currency Law, so take advice before relying on it.
Can anyone promise that a bank will open the account?
No. The bank decides on every application, and it must refuse when it cannot complete its checks. We prepare the file so that it answers the bank’s questions before they are asked, and if Kapitalbank declines we apply at a second bank.
Have the bank application prepared in Tashkent
We prepare the file, book the appointment and apply at Kapitalbank, then at a second bank if it declines. The bank decides.