Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - In order to protect the rights and legitimate interests of consumers of financial services, the Central Bank  of Uzbekistan approved the Regulation "On minimum requirements for the activities of microcredit organizations and pawnshops in their interaction with consumers of financial services".

The Regulation establishes the minimum requirements for microcredit organizations and pawnshops to disclose information to consumers about the financial services provided, and also discloses the rules for interaction of credit institutions with consumers in the event of debt arrears and requirements for considering consumer appeals.

The regulation was adopted in order to:

ensuring the observance of the rights and legitimate interests of consumers of financial services;

prevention of unfair practices of interaction of credit institutions with consumers of financial services;

increasing the information transparency of the microfinance market, as well as raising the awareness of consumers of financial services.

This Regulation will regulate relations not only with citizens, but also with small and medium-sized businesses.

In particular, in accordance with the Regulations, information about the services provided and their conditions should be posted on the stands and on the websites of credit institutions.

Credit institutions are obliged to disclose the terms of financial services prior to signing the relevant agreement with the provision of consumers for preliminary study of draft agreements.

Borrowers have the right to receive information about their payments on the loan and about the balance of existing debt. In this case, credit institutions are obliged to provide consumers with one copy of the signed agreement.

Credit institutions are not entitled to unilaterally amend credit agreements that infringe on the rights of borrowers or increase their financial obligations.

It should be noted that credit institutions are not entitled to restrict consumers' rights to the method of payment for their services - in cash or non-cash form.

The regulation comes into force on 1 October 2020.