Kazakhstani fintech Kaspi about to acquire HUMO in Uzbekistan
HUMO is Uzbekistan national payment system that shares the initial market with UzCard. During its operation, it has already issued over 23 million cards, connected more than 200,000 points of sale, and installed nearly 6,000 ATMs. The system is a major player in Uzbekistan's financial market and undoubtedly has significant potential.
The upcoming privatization is expected to lead to further growth for the company and bring more technological capabilities to meet the client’s needs. There is practically a monopoly of two local payment systems in Uzbekistan — HUMO and UzCard — which are the preferred choices for the majority of population for everyday payments. Visa/Mastercard are not popular and do not have significant demand.
Currently, company is in the stage of upcoming privatization and has already attracted the interest of many investors. Kazakh fintech Kaspi has sent a letter of intent to purchase 100% of HUMO shares to the Agency for the Management of State Assets of Uzbekistan and issued a press release announcing the desired deal. The privatization will be conducted in several stages through auction and the final sale price will be determined during it. The process is under the advisory supervision of Deloitte company. Kaspi considers HUMO a very interesting asset, and we are confident that this is really true. If the deal is successful, Kaspi plans to direct a range of its technologies to develop products under the HUMO brand, as well as invest significant funds in personnel in Uzbekistan and development of new and existing services. Company is confident that its successful experience in Kazakhstan can be used to improve the infrastructure and create even more convenient banking product for customers.
Kaspi itself is the largest ecosystem in Kazakhstan and a driver of financial sector development in the country. Payments, finance, and marketplace in one accompany Kazakhstani people every day, and practically every resident of the country is a client of the company. Whether Kaspi will succeed in purchasing the Uzbek payment system or not we will see, and Monoup is closely following the updates on this matter. You can read daily updates in our Telegram channel and more detailed news on our website in the Mono Talks section.
