Building on the multimarket partnership to enable flexible payments adoption in the region, Mastercard (NYSE: MA) and ZOOD, one of the digital lending platforms for e-commerce in the Middle East and Central Asia, has introduced a BNPL card – ZOOD Card – in Uzbekistan.
The ZOOD Card will enable consumers to convert purchases into installment plans for in-store, and local as well as online shopping outlets.
According to KPMG, by the end of 2027, the market share of POS financing and BNPL in Uzbekistan’s e-commerce sector is expected to hit 22% in the higher-end segment.
Providing flexible financing options, the installment card will provide consumers with the option to make purchases of up to 20 million Uzbek SOMs. This may be done by splitting their payments into 3, 6 or 12 installments.
Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President, Market Development, EEMEA, Mastercard said that their main goal is to expand access to easy financing options while driving digital inclusion throughout the region.
Powered by Mastercard, ZOOD Card will bring the firm’s BNPL offering to a virtual installment card, with Ipak Yuli Bank as the BIN Sponsor.
This partnership will address the rising demand for flexible payment options in the region and is set to enable greater financial inclusion by offering unbanked / underbanked consumers with accessible payment solutions.
The virtual card will be available to ZOOD’s customers after a wider roll-out in October of this year.
Michael Khoi, Group CEO, ZOOD said that through their partnership with Mastercard, their customers will be able to shop in up 12 installments in “real-time” at various local and global online stores such as Amazon, Ebay or Alibaba and even offline stores in Uzbekistan.
This roll-out builds on ZOOD and Mastercard’s partnership to boost BNPL adoption across Eastern Europe, MENA, whereby both have teamed up to offer BNPL As-A-Service offering to banks, fintech and retail providers
Over the years, consumers have increasingly been looking for BNPL options so they can afford to acquire the items they need while not having to make full payments. Due in part to the cost-of-living crisis and inflation, the purchasing power of most people has been declining steadily.
Most employers have not been increasing worker salaries and this has put tremendous pressure on people. Many consumers are spending more conservatively as a result and BNPL or pay over time products can help reduce the impact of rising costs.
