Mastercard & ZOOD team to unveil virtual BNPL Card in Uzbekistan

By Gloria Mathias

Mastercard and ZOOD, one of the digital lending platforms for eCommerce in the Middle East and Central Asia, have introduced a virtual BNPL card, the ZOOD Card, in Uzbekistan, building on the existing multimarket partnership to accelerate flexible payment adoption in the region.

The first of its kind in the market, the ZOOD Card will enable consumers to convert their purchases into convenient installment plans for in-store and local and global online shopping outlets.

Offering flexible financing options, the virtual installment card will provide consumers with the flexibility to make purchases of up to 20 million Uzbek SOMs by splitting their payments into 3, 6 or 12 instalments. Moreover, the card is completely free to obtain.

“Consumers today demand more flexibility and choice while transacting securely. By combining ZOOD’s innovative approach with Mastercard’s global network and technology, we are not only expanding access to convenient financing options but also driving digital inclusion across the region,” said Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President of Market Development, EEMEA, Mastercard.

Powered by Mastercard, ZOOD Card will bring the company’s current BNPL offering to a virtual installment card, with Ipak Yuli Bank as the BIN Sponsor. This partnership will meet the growing demand for flexible payment options in the region and is set to drive financial inclusion by providing underbanked consumers with convenient payment solutions. The virtual card will be initially made available to ZOOD’s existing customers following a broader roll-out in October.

“ZOOD Card is the first-of-its-kind virtual BNPL card in Uzbekistan that aims to disrupt the BNPL space and empower consumers to manage their cashflows with ease and comfort. Through our partnership with Mastercard, our customers will be able to shop in up to 12 instalments in real-time at major local and global online stores such as Amazon, eBay or Alibaba and any offline stores in Uzbekistan, anytime and anywhere, without being restricted exclusively to the ZOOD network,” said Michael Khoi, Group CEO, ZOOD.

This launch builds on ZOOD and Mastercard’s existing partnership to accelerate BNPL adoption across Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, whereby both have partnered to provide BNPL as a service offering to banks, FinTech, and retail providers.