International payment service Apple Pay has officially launched in Uzbekistan, initially allowing users to link Visa and Mastercard cards issued by eight local banks and make payments using compatible Apple devices, according to the Central Bank of Uzbekistan.

The service supports Visa and Mastercard cards issued by the National Bank of Uzbekistan (NBU), Ipak Yuli Bank, Orient Finans Bank, Kapitalbank, TBC Bank Uzbekistan and Octobank. Visa cards issued by Hamkorbank and Uzum Bank can also be added to Apple Pay, The Caspian Post reports, citing UzDaily.

Users can link their bank cards to Apple Wallet and make payments using an iPhone, Apple Watch or other compatible devices.

The Central Bank said work was underway to connect cards from Uzbekistan’s national payment systems, Uzcard and Humo. Support for both systems is expected to become available in the near future.

The regulator also noted that Apple Pay uses specialized technologies to protect card data and secure transactions. The service will be expanded in stages as banks and payment systems complete the necessary technical preparations.

The launch of Apple Pay and Google Pay in Uzbekistan was announced on the morning of October 27. Users began adding cards issued by local banks to the digital wallets later that day. Journalists from Spot also reported successfully linking bank cards to the newly launched services.