8B co-founder says central bank QR interoperability is fintech’s defining trend

By AI, Created 8:40 PM UTC, May 21, 2026, /AGP/ – At PLUS Forum Digital Uzbekistan in Tashkent, 8B Co-Founder Bogdan Zadorozhny said unified central bank QR systems are emerging as the decade’s top fintech trend. The panel framed Central Asia’s digital shift around trust, interoperability, AI orchestration and regulatory infrastructure.

Why it matters: - Central bank QR interoperability could lower payment costs and shift control of payment rails from card networks to national infrastructure. - The discussion in Tashkent pointed to a broader Central Asian model for digital finance, shaped by state platforms, trust frameworks and AI-driven operations. - The panel framed digital transformation as a human adoption problem, not just a technology upgrade.

What happened: - Session 4 at PLUS Forum Digital Uzbekistan brought together nine speakers from fintech, banking, regulation and government. - Zhanargul Izimova, Director and Strategy Consulting Leader for Financial Institutions in Eurasia at Strategy& within the PwC network, moderated the session. - Bogdan Zadorozhny, Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of 8B, said, “The unified QR of central banks is the main fintech trend of the decade.” - The forum took place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on May 22, 2026.

The details: - Zadorozhny highlighted maps of ASEAN, national QR systems, cross-border interoperability frameworks and account-to-account rails. - Card network fees were described as ranging from 3% to 3.5%. - National QR models were described as operating at 0.3% to 0.8%. - Zadorozhny said the key issue is ownership of infrastructure, routing logic and payment flows. - Zadorozhny also said, “AI is gradually becoming the execution layer of the financial system.” - Kirill Korolev, Director of Strategic Fintech Development for Central and Middle Asia at Wildberries, said e-commerce has become part of the customer journey for financial services. - Anton Chen, Head of Business Development for Alipay+ across the CIS, said cross-border payments are becoming infrastructure for trust between ecosystems. - Nadir Parpiev, Head of the Service for the Development of Electronic Digital Signature Key Registration Centers at the Ministry of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan, said a cross-border space of trust is the next stage of digital development for states. - Alexey Afonin, Vice President of Development at U-BSS, said AI should control the full customer journey before, during and after interaction. - Mikhail Danilin, Head of Digital Corporate at IpotekaBank OTP Group, said AI should take over routine work such as account statements, standard requests and repetitive processes. - Alexey Karnaukhov, former Chief Data Officer at IpotekaBank OTP Group, introduced the Reporting Data Readiness Index, or RDRI, and said data governance is becoming the operating model for managing regulatory data. - Denis Tur, CEO of STRATTURA Consulting, cited $344.7 billion in private AI investment, $581.7 billion in corporate AI investment and $2.52 trillion in projected AI spending. - Tur said roughly 80% of global and venture investment is tied to AI. - Igor Mushakov, an independent expert, said, “I do not trust processes,” and argued that data cannot help without company culture. - Mushakov asked, “Would you have eye surgery if it were performed by an AI?” - Izimova closed by saying digital transformation produces maximum return only when strategy, operating model and culture are synchronized. - Izimova said roughly two thirds of companies do not see measurable results from digital transformation because of leadership alignment, ownership, change management and data-quality failures.

Between the lines: - The panel suggested Central Asia is not simply importing fintech models from elsewhere. - Zadorozhny’s remarks positioned QR interoperability as both a cost story and a sovereignty story. - The AI discussion was less about novelty and more about embedding automation into bank operations, compliance and customer service. - The trust theme ran through the entire session, from state digital identity to consumer willingness to let AI make decisions.

What’s next: - The panel implied that banks, regulators and payment ecosystems in Central Asia will keep moving toward interoperable QR rails and account-to-account systems. - AI adoption will likely expand from back-office automation toward more autonomous orchestration of payments, liquidity and customer journeys. - Digital transformation efforts will continue to hinge on governance, culture and trust, not only software deployments.

The bottom line: - The forum’s core message was simple: the next phase of fintech in Central Asia will be defined less by technology alone than by who controls the rails and whether users trust them.