Install Yandex Go before leaving the airport arrivals area and ignore unsolicited drivers. A foreign number and card can work, but verification, driver calls and card authorization vary, so keep Uzbek soʻm available. Payme and Click are resident tools tied to local cards or identity checks, not arrival essentials. Foreign Visa and Mastercard acceptance is improving in the main tourist cities, yet cash remains important in bazaars, small businesses and the regions. Withdraw money before leaving a major city. Book popular trains through the official railway app or website as soon as the route's inventory appears because release timing varies and Afrosiyob services can sell out. Accommodation providers normally complete your temporary registration. Confirm it rather than assuming, especially in private accommodation, and retain the registration record for departure.
No Uzbek payment, wallet or banking app is an arrival essential for an ordinary short visit.
Payme requires an SMS-enabled UZCARD or HUMO card and its official help says a Visa card cannot be added. Click's full identification flow requires Uzbek citizenship and local identity data. Both products are useful to residents, not universal substitutes for a visitor's existing bank cards and cash. International Visa and Mastercard acceptance has improved in Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and established tourism businesses, and current travelers report successful contactless and mobile-wallet payments.
Failures still occur at individual terminals, hotels and restaurants, so ask before ordering and carry two physical cards on different networks if possible. Keep them separately. Cash in Uzbek soʻm remains important at bazaars, small restaurants, guesthouses, local transport and outside the main cities. International-card ATMs are scarce away from major urban centers.
Withdraw enough soʻm before a regional leg, use an ATM attached to a recognizable bank during opening hours and reject conversion into the card's home currency. Only exchange money at banks or official booths. Current UK guidance says US dollars are easiest to exchange, notes issued before 2013 may be refused, and damaged or marked notes are unacceptable. Do not plan to pay shops directly in foreign currency.
Local QR codes usually expect a domestic bank card or wallet, so a visible Payme, Click, UZCARD or HUMO sign does not prove a foreign card can pay. Never scan a replacement QR code or open a payment link sent by an unsolicited contact. Confirm every changed payment request through the original merchant or booking platform.
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How to Pay in Uzbekistan