The new financing will help Alif expand its installment business, but the bigger question is how its model will adapt when Uzbekistan’s new BNPL rules take effect next year. 

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Uzbekistan's installment finance market is approaching a turning point. Alif has raised $10 million from Armenia based Ineco Group to expand Alif Nasiya, its installment payments business, with the company planning to use the financing to add more products and bring additional retailers onto the platform. The deal is structured under the mudaraba Islamic finance model. 

From January 2027, Uzbekistan will bring BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) under a formal regulatory framework for installment financing, with providers facing closer oversight. The Central Bank has been working on the framework as the use of installment payments has grown beyond traditional retail and into the country's wider digital finance market. 

A Fast Growing Market Faces New Limits 

Installment buying is hardly new in Uzbekistan. Retailers have offered it for years, but digital platforms have made the model much easier to scale. Alif has been one of the companies driving that shift, with Alif Nasiya becoming one of the country's leading installment services. The new rules will put clearer boundaries around how these products can be offered, including limits on the size and duration of BNPL purchases and the charges customers can face. That could be particularly relevant to Alif, whose Nasiya service currently offers installment terms of up to 24 months. Under the new framework, BNPL contracts will be limited to 12 months, potentially affecting the types of purchases that qualify, how retailers structure offers and how providers make longer term financing work commercially. 

The Central Bank has been preparing for this transition for some time, including work with international financial institutions on how installment finance should fit into the wider regulatory system. Consumer protection and credit reporting have been among the issues under consideration. For Alif, the new funding gives the company room to continue building its retail network before those changes take effect, but it does not remove the challenge posed by the new rules. A shorter maximum term could change the economics of some installment products, particularly for higher value purchases, while providers will also face greater scrutiny around how financing is presented to customers. 

Where Alif’s Islamic Finance Strategy Fits In 

The structure of the Ineco deal fits with Alif's wider focus on Sharia compliant finance. The company says it maintains Sharia compliance across its products and processes, an approach that could become relevant as it looks beyond its existing markets. Alif lists Saudi Arabia and Egypt among the markets it is exploring, alongside Bangladesh and Indonesia. If the company eventually takes its model into Saudi Arabia or other MENA markets, its experience with Sharia compliant installment finance could become an advantage. For now, however, the more immediate test is at home. 

Uzbekistan is about to find out what its BNPL market looks like once the rules catch up with the growth. Alif has secured more capital to keep expanding, but its next phase will be shaped as much by the new regulatory framework as by its ability to add customers and retailers. 

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