Is it okay to use ATMs late in the evening in Uzbekistan or should I stick to daytime withdrawals only? I am a single woman travelling so want to be safe.
Uzbekistan has made real progress with modern banking, but cash is still king. Even in Tashkent, I saw queues form at ATMs before 6 PM, with few using them after dark.
I tried to use a nearby ATM after dinner in Bukhara, but it had already shut down. Locals mentioned machines often run out of cash by nightfall or are switched off to prevent technical errors. It wasn’t unsafe, just frustrating.
Samarkand’s city center had fewer functioning ATMs than expected. Around 8:45 PM, I found a Kapitalbank ATM outside a hotel. It worked with my Visa card but dispensed only Uzbek soms in large bills, which small shops didn’t accept. Slightly inconvenient, but manageable.
In Tashkent, I withdrew money from an Asaka Bank ATM just before 9 PM. There were families on the sidewalk and taxis waiting outside. It felt perfectly normal. The interface was in Uzbek and English, and the machine accepted Mastercard.