Crossroads Asia | Economy | Central Asia

A Tajik Bank Shuts Side Door for Russian Cardholders

Humo Bank’s ultimatum to its Russian clients shows how Western sanctions can shape Tajikistan’s banking sector.

Tajikistan’s Humo Bank has warned its Russian clients that their cards will be blocked on October 1 unless they visit one of its offices in Tajikistan by September 30 to undergo biometric identification. “If you can’t come to Tajikistan in person and complete the identification, unfortunately, your card will be closed,” the bank told Russian news site Lenta.ru, advising clients to move their remaining balances to ruble cards before the deadline.

The bank cited the need to protect clients from fraud. A Russian client, however, told the Telegram channel Ostorozhno Novosti that the bank’s support staff explained it had decided to restrict services for “certain categories of non-resident individuals” whose cards were opened online. She said a transfer of about 300 euros had been stuck for a week and that the bank had stopped responding to her complaints. Humo offered her a new card if she traveled to Tajikistan, valid only for the duration of her legal stay and for no longer than a year.

With Visa and Mastercard gone from Russia since 2022, Russians have relied on cards issued in “friendly” countries to make payments abroad. When Kazakhstan limited non-resident cards to 12 months and required in-person issuance in January 2025, intermediaries moved their business to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Humo and the International Bank of Tajikistan began offering remotely issued five-year cards in U.S. dollars and euros, sold through intermediaries for roughly 15,000 to 70,000 rubles.

Humo is a newcomer to banking. Owned by the Japanese investment holding Gojo & Company, the former microcredit deposit organization received a full banking license from the National Bank of Tajikistan in July 2025. It was also among the few Tajik financial institutions with access to Visa Direct, a real-time payment service that became a conduit for Russian money headed to Europe. An investigation by The Bell found last year that Sberbank clients could send money to Revolut and N26........

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