As reported earlier by Spot, the State Asset Management Agency has reached an agreement to sell 100% of the shares of the National Interbank Processing Center, which manages the Humo payment service. Out of three contenders, Paynet emerged as the winner, offering $65 million.
Paynet commented on the privatization of the Humo payment system. The company assured its commitment to "the principles of fair competition, collaboration in the development of national payment systems, and the implementation of advanced financial and digital technologies to accelerate the introduction of new forms and methods of payments aimed at stimulating the growth of the digital economy and entrepreneurship."
“We are confident that the synergy of Humo with other participants in the payment market will not only preserve but also enhance its achievements, strengthen its market position, and effectively pursue its long-term goals,” said Paynet's CEO Anvar Isamukhamedov.
According to him, as a result of improving business processes, expanding the range of products and services, and implementing new technologies, Paynet and Humo will be able to provide "higher quality, accessible, and innovative solutions" for the population and businesses in Uzbekistan.
The Paynet payment service, founded by Botir Arifdzhanov in 2005, was later sold to the state-owned People's Bank. In the fall of 2023, the company underwent privatization, with the change in ownership only being noted in the spring of 2024.
The new owner became New Industrial Technologies, in which 40% was owned by the majority shareholder Mustafa Abdurakhmanov of Asia Alliance Bank. In May, Paynet was transformed into a joint-stock company, in accordance with the Central Bank's requirements for payment services.
History of Humo
The National Interbank Processing Center was established in 2018, and in the spring of the following year, it launched the Humo payment system. In 2021, it entered into a partnership with Uzcard and began integrating infrastructure.
Since the summer of 2023, 6,400 Humo ATMs accept Uzcard bank cards on a reciprocal basis. Work is currently underway to integrate payment terminals, which has already reached the public testing stage.
In May of this year, the NIPC underwent reorganization as a joint-stock company and issued 155,448,748 ordinary shares with a nominal value of 1,000 sums. Prior to this, in April, Shavkat Mirziyoyev approved a privatization program that includes the sale of the state’s stake in Humo.
The Kazakh fintech group Kaspi expressed interest in purchasing Humo. Its co-founder Mikhail Lomtadze stated plans to develop the business model and enhance it with experience in payment technologies. However, in November, Kaspi withdrew from the privatization process.
According to estimates from experts surveyed by Spot, the minimum value of Humo ranges from $60 to $80 million. The head of the joint-stock company Akmalkhon Ortikov noted that these estimates are “very close to the truth.”
Earlier, Spot reported that Uzbekistan and the UAE agreed to create a large data center in Tashkent.