After more than 100 meetings at Sibos Miami, a presence on Times Square and participation in the IAMTN Annual Summit in London, Octobank continues to develop international connections and new directions for cross-border payments, the bank says
Octobank continues to expand its international presence and develop relationships with global banks, payment companies and fintech providers, according to the bank. The latest stage of its international program was the IAMTN Annual Summit 2026, held on 7–8 October in London.
During the summit, the Octobank team established contacts with representatives of 34 organizations from 22 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas, the bank reports. It also discussed further development of cooperation with existing partners PayPal, Dubai Islamic Bank and Worldpay.
Negotiations with international payment companies Thunes, UniTeller and Belmoney resulted in preliminary agreements on further cooperation, Octobank states. The next stage, according to the bank, will involve developing new remittance corridors and expanding the payment solutions available to its clients.
London became a continuation of the bank’s international program, which over the course of several weeks sequentially passed through Miami, New York and London.
Each of these stages addressed a separate task, the bank explains: Sibos in Miami served as a platform for negotiations with international financial institutions, Times Square in New York as a tool for international visibility, and IAMTN in London as a venue for professional dialogue about the future of cross-border payments.
From International Meetings to New Payment Opportunities
For Octobank, participation in IAMTN is primarily linked to the development of practical payment infrastructure, the bank says. Today the international remittance market is changing rapidly. Traditional models are being complemented by digital platforms, API integrations, embedded financial services and new technological solutions that allow cross-border operations to be conducted faster and more conveniently.
For banks in Uzbekistan this process is acquiring particular significance as international trade, e-commerce and the business activity of local companies abroad continue to grow, according to Octobank. In this context, the bank’s cooperation with international payment providers is presented as part of a broader objective — to expand the number of available remittance destinations and more deeply integrate Uzbekistan’s financial infrastructure into international payment networks.
The scale of potential partners reflects the international nature of this strategy, the bank notes.
Thunes, founded in Singapore, develops a global cross-border payments network covering more than 140 countries. The American company UniTeller has an international remittance network with more than 200,000 payout points in more than 120 countries.
The Belgian company Belmoney develops remittance infrastructure on a Remittance-as-a-Service model and claims coverage of more than 150 countries. For Octobank, engagement with such companies opens the possibility of expanding geography, technological channels and the range of services for clients conducting international transfers, bank representatives say.
“Agreements reached within the framework of the IAMTN 2026 Annual Summit contribute to strengthening ties between national and international financial institutions. Participation in such summits allows us to expand cooperation with partners not only in Uzbekistan, but also in the countries of Asia, Europe, and the Americas, to integrate into the international payment network, and to develop more convenient and faster solutions for money transfers for our clients,” noted Sardor Shavkiev, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Octobank.
Deeper Presence in the International Payments Community
The bank’s participation in the London summit was not limited to business meetings. Octobank joined the International Association of Money Transfer Networks — IAMTN — as a Platinum Member and acted as a Gold Sponsor at the association’s annual summit, the bank reports.
For the bank this means a transition from one-off participation in international events to more permanent work within the professional community of cross-border payments, according to Octobank. Membership in IAMTN, it says, provides the opportunity to take part in industry discussions, monitor changes in the global remittance market, exchange practical experience with international companies and develop direct contacts with participants in the payments industry. At the same time, the bank seeks not only to be present at such platforms, but also to participate in the professional discussion of the industry’s future.
Uzbekistan in the Discussion on the Future of Cross-Border Payments
Igor Shishkov, Deputy Managing Director of Octobank for Cross-Border Money Transfers and E-Commerce, spoke in the business program of the IAMTN Annual Summit. He presented the bank’s approaches to the development of international payments, the use of modern technological solutions and improving the efficiency of cross-border operations. Particular attention was paid to the potential of Uzbekistan and Central Asia in the development of international payment infrastructure, according to the bank.
This topic is becoming increasingly relevant, Octobank notes. As companies in the region become more active in foreign markets and e-commerce erases geographical boundaries, financial infrastructure must develop in parallel with trade flows. Today the question is no longer only whether a payment can be sent from one country to another. For businesses, the speed of settlements, the cost of operations, the number of intermediaries, available currencies, transaction transparency and the ability to technologically integrate payment tools directly into business processes are of growing importance, the bank argues. That is why the development of direct relationships with international payment companies is becoming a strategic task for banks in Central Asia, according to Octobank.
Miami: More Than 100 International Meetings
The London stage of Octobank’s international program followed almost immediately after the bank’s participation in Sibos 2026 in Miami. Over the four days of the forum the Octobank team held more than 100 meetings with international banks, payment organizations and technology companies, the bank says. The negotiations focused on correspondent banking relationships, international settlements, foreign exchange and interbank operations, trade finance and payment solutions.
For the bank, Sibos became a platform where the international strategy was discussed directly with participants in the global financial system.
At the same time, the practical meaning of such negotiations lies not in the number of meetings themselves, Octobank notes. Their result should be expressed in new opportunities for clients — a wider geography of settlements, the development of correspondent relationships, access to new payment channels and integration with international financial infrastructure.
New York: Moving Beyond the Professional Community
The next stage was New York. After the conclusion of Sibos the Octobank brand appeared on the screens of Times Square — one of the most recognizable public spaces in the world.
While in Miami the bank communicated primarily with the professional financial community, New York made it possible to take the story of Octobank and modern Uzbekistan beyond negotiation rooms and industry conferences, the bank states.
In this sequence, Times Square fulfilled a different function, according to Octobank.
It was not a platform for banking negotiations, but a tool for international public visibility.
Thus, the story developed sequentially:
Miami — business relationships.
New York — international visibility.
London — professional expertise and new directions of cooperation in cross-border payments.
From the Silk Road to New Financial Corridors
All three stages are united by a broader story of the development of Uzbekistan’s financial sector, the bank says. Historically, Central Asia lay at the intersection of trade routes between East and West. Today, geographical trade corridors are being complemented by digital and financial ones. Modern international trade requires not only transport and logistics infrastructure. It needs infrastructure that allows funds to move just as freely between countries: banking relationships, payment networks, currency settlements, digital services and technological integrations. That is why the modern Silk Road is increasingly becoming not only a trade route, but also a financial one, according to Octobank.
For Uzbekistan, further integration into such a system means the need for closer interaction between local banks and international financial institutions and payment companies. Octobank seeks to become one of the participants in this process, bank representatives say.
From International Visibility to International Infrastructure
The sequence of events in Miami, New York and London demonstrates a change in the very nature of the bank’s international presence, Octobank claims. It is no longer only about presenting the Octobank brand outside Uzbekistan.
At Sibos the bank expanded institutional ties.
In New York it strengthened international visibility.
In London it developed relationships directly with participants in the global cross-border payments market and reached the first preliminary agreements on further cooperation.
This approach moves the bank’s international activity from the realm of communications into the realm of infrastructure, the bank states. And it is here that the real result of the strategy will be determined. The main indicator will not be the number of conferences, stands or international publications, but the extent to which the relationships formed in Miami and London turn into working payment routes, technological integrations and new services for the bank’s clients, according to Octobank. For the bank, the next stage begins after the conclusion of the international events. The task now is to convert the established contacts and preliminary agreements into concrete projects. And for Uzbekistan, such projects mean the further expansion of ties with the global financial system, the bank says.
Octobank is a commercial bank headquartered in Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan.
The bank was founded in 2001 and has operated under the Octobank brand since 2023. Its main areas of activity include digital banking, payment services, corporate banking, international settlements and cross-border financial solutions.
Octobank’s international strategy provides for the development of correspondent banking relationships, cross-border payments, payment infrastructure, foreign exchange operations, as well as cooperation with foreign banks, fintech companies and international payment providers.
