Russia's Korona Pay is sanctioned. Uzbekistan feels the pinch

The EU has sanctioned a bank that handles Korona Pay, Russia’s main international money transfer service used by many migrant workers. In response, Uzbek banks are working to help their clients avoid the fallout, according to Kursiv Uzbekistan.

Transfers to Uzbekistan via Korona Pay, also known as Zolotaya Korona (Golden Crown in English), are still occurring. Uzbekistan’s Central Bank confirmed this after the European Union included the payment system’s settlement bank in its latest round of sanctions against Russia.

Otabek Tojiddinov, who leads the Central Bank’s Currency Regulation and Supervision Department, explained that the restrictions are aimed at the bank handling settlements, not at the Korona Pay system itself.

The official said that Uzbek banks keep collateral deposits in the system, which allows them to keep paying out remittances. Customers can also receive their funds in their preferred currency.

As of now, Uzbek banks are in talks with Korona Pay over moving settlements to a non-sanctioned bank. The payment system’s managers have arrived to Tashkent for negotiations, and the Central Bank expects things to return to normal once a new operator is chosen.

Uzbek banks halt transfers

Even though the Central Bank has given assurances, many Uzbek banks have already stopped Zolotaya Korona transfers.

Kapitalbank, one of the country’s biggest private banks, stopped transfers last week. Asakabank, Agrobank, Aloqabank and Asia Alliance Bank followed suit, as have smaller commercial banks that have also suspended both incoming and outgoing transactions.

Why it matters

This disruption matters because remittances are a key source of income for Uzbekistan’s economy. Millions of people from Uzbekistan work abroad, mostly in Russia.

Earlier this year, the Central Bank reported that Uzbekistan received $9.3 billion in international remittances during the first half of 2026, a 13% increase from $8.2 billion a year earlier and nearly triple the $3.3 billion recorded in the first half of 2021.

In 2025, remittances to Uzbekistan reached a record $18.9 billion, a 28% increase ($4.1 billion) from the previous year.

While Russia remains the largest source of transfers, the Central Bank official noted that Korona Pay is also used for remittances from South Korea, Turkey, Kazakhstan, and European Union countries. Traditional remittances processed through the system total about $2.4 billion, underscoring the system’s importance as banks adapt to the new sanctions.

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