President Emomali Rahmon, who is also Head of the Government, held a meeting on July14 to discuss issues related to improvement of macroeconomic indices, formation of the national budget and measures  to expand the application of cashless payments.

The Tajik president’s official website says the head of state gave instructions to officials responsible for developing industrial production facilities, providing a high speed internet, availability of prices for development of the digital economy, and attracting investments, especially direct investments for implementation of priority projects.    

Emomali Rahmon reportedly emphasized the significance of timely implementation of the decree on measures to expand cashless payments.  

Recall, President Emomali Rahmon signed the decree on measures to expand cashless payments in Tajikistan on June 22.  In accordance with the decree, public services must be paid in non-cash form beginning on August 1, 2023. 

“Payment of taxes, state fees for issuing permits and licenses, other mandatory payments to the budget, fines, mandatory insurance fees, healthcare services, public utilities, other types of public services, as well as acceptance of money by ministries and agencies and state-run organizations are made in non-cash,” the decree says. 

The decree also notes that it is necessary to prohibit ministries, agencies, state-run organizations and financial institutions from accepting payment for paid services in cash. 

It is to be noted that there were 4.1 million internet users in Tajikistan as of January 1, 2023.  At the start of 2023, Tajikistan’s internet penetration rate stood at 40.8 percent of the total population 

Kepios analysis indicates that internet users in Tajikistan increased by 164,000 (+4.2 percent) between 2022 and 2023.

For perspective, these user figures reportedly reveal that 5.95 million people in Tajikistan did not use the internet at the start of 2023, suggesting that 59.2 percent of the population remained offline at the beginning of the year.