| Market Overview | |
|---|---|
| Payment Organisation | Interbank Card Processing Centre (ICPC). |
| Domestic Card Brand | Altyn Card. |
| Market Structure | Though two banks issue proprietary local debit cards, nearly all cards are internationally branded. Three banks issue UnionPay cards. VISA predominates, with a market share of 50.35%. Central bank figures show that 51.9% of cards in circulation are classed as active cards. ATM withdrawal value grew by 7.94% in 2023 in Kazakhstan; card payments rose by over 37.08% and payment value rose by over 36.76% from 2021. The five largest banks – Halyk Bank, Kaspi Bank, Bank CentreCredit, Otbasy Bank, and Forte Bank – accounted for 66.43% of banking sector assets as of December 2023. Of the top 10 banks, Kaspi Bank and Sberbank are Russian-controlled. Bank sector consolidation is gaining momentum with several mergers and acquisitions since 2017. Following UniCredit’s disposal of ATF Bank in March 2013, there is no substantial Western-owned retail bank in Kazakhstan. |
| Notable Market Trends | Contactless rollout, e-money, UnionPay cards, mobile banking apps. The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) has been exploring the feasibility of issuing a digital tenge (DT) since 2021. The NBK recently completed a successful pilot project and announced its plan to launch the Digital Tenge, the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), in three stages by 2025, starting with the first stage in the fall of 2023. |
| Major Card Issuers | Halyk Bank, Kaspi Bank, Jysan Bank, ATF Bank. |
| Major Card Acquirers | Halyk Bank, Kaspi Bank, Jysan Bank. |
| Major Card Processors | Kazakhstan Interbank Settlement Centre (KISC). |
| Key Statistics 2023 | |
|---|---|
| Population | 19.9 million, 3.75 cards per capita |
| Cards | Domestic cards: 24.87 million VISA branded cards: 37.53 million Mastercard branded cards: 10.7 million Total cards: 74.54 million |
| Card Transactions | Payments: 11,317.9 million, value: KZT 141.94 trillion ($311.18 billion) Cash withdrawals: 241.1 million; value: KZT 23.05 trillion ($50.5 billion) Total transactions: 1,279.3 million; value: KZT 164.9 trillion ($361.6 billion) |
| POS Terminals | 1,041,884 (thereof 8,114 in bank branches) |
| POS Payments | 7,290.1 million |
| ATMs | 12,649 |
| ATM Withdrawals | 241.1 million |
Introduction – Payments in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is a presidential republic with a bicameral Parliament composed of the Senate and the Assembly (Mazhilis). There is limited power outside of the executive branch.
The Republic of Kazakhstan is a country in Central Asia, with a minor part west of the Ural River and thus in Europe. Kazakhstan is the world’s largest landlocked country by land area and the ninth largest country in the world; its territory of 2,724,900 square kilometres is larger than Western Europe. It has borders with Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, and also adjoins a large part of the Caspian Sea. The capital is Astana, which was moved from Almaty in 1997. Kazakhstan allows freedom of religion. The Kazakh language is the state language, while Russian has equal official status for all levels of administrative and institutional purposes.
Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, the Kazakhstan government has pursued the goal of an open economy integrated into the world economy, including a fully privatised banking sector. Oil and gas are the main engines of the Kazakh economy, and Kazakhstan contributes 60% of Central Asia’s GDP, underlining its importance to the region economically as a whole.
Kazakhstan is a member of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union, whose formation was finalised in 2015. However, with a view to its long-standing open economy policy, the Kazakh government insists that joining the customs union will not preclude trade agreements with other countries and international organisations.
In March 2020, the Concept of the Foreign Policy of Kazakhstan for 2020–2030 was announced. This is aimed at implementing progressive foreign policies, economic interest in the international arena to attract investment, and development of regional and multilateral diplomacy with key partners – including Russia, China, the US and EU countries.
According to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, mobile apps, internet banking and other remote facilities are becoming the main channels for providing payment services to end users. As of 2020, 29 million online banking users were recorded, compared to 20 million in 2019. Over 14 million people were active monthly internet and mobile banking users in 2020, compared to 7 million in 2019.
In May 2021, the National Bank of Kazakhstan announced the launch of a pilot national digital currency as a prospective form of money. The digital KZT would be a legal means of payment, a value measure, and a means of saving.
Many banks in Kazakhstan are pursuing the development of their payment ecosystems, by integrating consumer payment services, merchant acquiring and e-commerce platforms to streamline and accelerate the development of digital payments.
Online retail sales, which accounted for 7.8% of the total retail market in 2021, are significantly below other markets. Penetration of consumer financial services is low, with consumer loans accounting for only 7.6% of GDP in 2021 (based on data from the NBK). Digital payments in Kazakhstan accounted for 78% of transactions in 2021, which is a dramatic transformation in a relatively short period. Although Kazakhstan is rapidly embracing digitization, there is still scope to deepen digital payment penetration, especially across retail and SMEs. The share of e-commerce in the total volume of retail trade rose to 12.7% in 2023 from 12.5% in 2022 according to data from the Bureau of National Statistics.
Banking Sector
Established in 1993, the National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) is an autonomous institution operating in accordance with the Law of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan and its amendments. The Committee for the Control and Supervision of the Financial Market and Financial Organisations of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan supervises the banking sector within Kazakhstan.
In April 2018, the financial regulators of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan held a Joint Payment Area Working Group meeting to discuss key trends and initiatives related to the use of innovative financial technology to develop and promote today’s services across the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Among others, they denoted blockchain and instant payments as key priorities.
In June 2018, the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). The MoU follows the close collaboration between the DIFC bodies and the Republic of Kazakhstan to establish the Astana International Financial Centre which has been modelled on the DIFC. As members of the 60-member Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN), both AFSA and DFSA were undertaking cross-border tests on FinTech innovation, including blockchain usage, throughout 2020 and 2021.
In January 2020, the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan was established, succeeding the National Bank of Kazakhstan as the country’s banking supervision entity. The Agency is a state body governing financial services and financial stability. The Agency’s tasks include regulation and development of the financial market, including oversight of financial organizations.
Kazakhstan’s economy remains largely dependent on oil: over the previous five years, the correlation between oil prices and GDP growth had exceeded 90% and continues to strengthen, whereas the correlation was negative before the global crisis in 2007. Kazakhstan’s economy grew at a higher-than-expected rate of 4.5% in 2019, driven by solid growth in domestic demand. However, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic led to GDP falling by 2.6%, with reduced production and lower external demand for crude oil being the main factor.
Given the pro-inflationary pressure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting imbalance in food markets, disruption of supply chains, and higher prices for raw materials and transport costs, during 2021 the government of Kazakhstan, jointly with the NBK, developed measures to control and reduce the inflation rate for 2022-2024. As of end-2021, inflation was at 8.4%, and Kazakhstan’s GDP increased by 4.0% in annual terms. By 2023, inflation rose to 21.3% in February, and it began to decelerate gradually to a record level of 9.8% in December as a result of the pursued monetary policy, joint measures with the Government, and last year’s high base.
The Kazakhstan government is also implementing numerous initiatives to restructure and modernize the economy.
In 2022 Kazakhstan’s real GDP grew by 3.2%. Growth was driven by non-oil exports to neighbouring countries and investment growth of 7.9%, primarily in resource sectors. Growth was also supported by an inflow of Russian tourists/immigrants. On the supply side, agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and services sectors all contributed to growth. In 2023 Kazakhstan’s real GDP grew by 5.1%. Growth was driven by oil production, fiscal stimuli, and strong consumption. Oil production’s 6% increase significantly contributed to this growth. Consumer confidence remained high despite stagnant income and tight monetary policy, as evidenced by increases in retail (7%), car sales (8%), and new business registration (10%). Capital investment also rose, predominantly in non-resource sectors. The World Bank expects Kazakhstan’s economy to see a moderate increase in growth to 3.4% in 2024 and 4.5 – 5% in 2025, as the expansion of production capacity in existing oilfields is set to boost exports and spur the growth of the petrochemical industry in 2025 and beyond.
Kazakhstan’s long-standing issue of banks’ problem loans (write-offs, off-balance sheet transfers, and restructurings) has eased in recent years. As of end-2021, the share of loans past due more than 90 days in the retail portfolio was 1.7% (3.5% of the retail portfolio of banks) compared to 5.4% at the end of 2020.
In 2017 and 2018, bank sector consolidation gained momentum with Halyk Bank acquiring Kazkommertsbank, but consolidation slowed down in 2019 due to uncertainty over the economic strength and capital positions of several banks. By December 2020, consolidation activity had resumed with Jysan Bank (formerly Tsesnabank) agreeing to acquire ATF Bank from its sole shareholder Galymzhan Yessenov. In December 2020, Forte Bank sold its 100% stake in Bank Kassa Nova, just a year after acquiring it. Bank Kassa Nova was acquired by brokerage, underwriting, and investment company Freedom Finance and was renamed Bank Freedom Finance Kazakhstan.
As of 2020, eight banks had been placed under liquidation orders: Tengri Bank, Qazaq Bank, Kazinvestbank, AsiaCredit Bank, Delta Bank, Eximbank, Bank of Astana, and Valyut – Transit Bank. Over 100 second-tier banks have been liquidated since the tightening of regulations and capital requirements by the NBK over the past few years.
To maintain the banking sector’s stability, in 2021 the removal of troubled banks from the system progressed. As of 2021, the number of participants in the banking sector of the Republic of Kazakhstan decreased by four banks, two of which were deprived of their banking licenses and the other two had surrendered their licenses voluntarily.
Structure
A two-tier banking system operates in Kazakhstan, with the NBK occupying the first tier. All of Kazakhstan’s second-tier banks are permitted to provide universal banking services.
Kazakhstan’s bank sector comprises banks, organizations that perform certain types of banking operations (banking organizations), payment service providers, and microfinance organizations. Banks operating in Kazakhstan include local conventional and Islamic banks and subsidiaries of foreign banks that operate as Kazakh legal entities under Kazakh law.
As of 2023, there were 21 banks, 255 bank branches, and 19 representative offices of non-resident banks in total in Kazakhstan, compared with the beginning of 2018 when there were 32 banks. Of the 22 banks in Kazakhstan, 14 banks have foreign participation, including 11 subsidiary banks, and one bank is wholly owned by the state.
The Kazakh Post Office (Kazpost) also provides banking services.
Halyk Bank dominates corporate and commercial banking in Kazakhstan, controlling approximately 30.12% of the banking sector’s total assets at end-2023. The top-five banks accounted for 66.44% of the total banking assets while the top 10 banks accounted for 87.93% of banking system assets.
| 1 - Main Banks in Kazakhstan (end-2023) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank | Ownership | Assets (KZTbn) | Assets ($bn) | Market Share % | Branches |
| Halyk Bank | Almex Holding Group: 69.6%, GSRs 28.5%; Others: 1.9% | 15,494.0 | 33.97 | 30.12% | 24 |
| Kaspi Bank | Baring Vostok Fund: 27.53%; Management: 3.41%; investors: 68.06% | 6,821.9 | 14.96 | 13.26% | 19 |
| Bank CenterCredit (BCC) | B.Balseitov (Board Chairman): 48.96%, Management: 39.77% investors: 11.27% | 4,878.8 | 10.70 | 9.48% | 21 |
| Otbasy Bank | Baiterek NMH JSC i | 3,730.4 | 8.18 | 7.25% | 19 |
| ForteBank | Private investor (Bulat Utemuratov): 81.82%, free float: 18.18% | 3,253.1 | 7.13 | 6.32% | 20 |
| First Heartland Jýsan Bank | First Heartland Securities (KZ): 78.73%, Others: 21.27% | 2,709.8 | 5.94 | 5.27% | 19 |
| Eurasian Bank | Eurasian Financial Company (EFC): 100% | 2,360.0 | 5.17 | 4.59% | 19 |
| Bank Freedom Finance | Freedom Holding Corp: 100% | 2,196.8 | 4.82 | 4.27% | 12 |
| Bank RBK | KCC FINANC LLP: 89.71%, Others: 10.29% | 2,043.5 | 4.48 | 3.97% | 13 |
| Bereke Bank | Baiterek NMH JSC; 100% | 1,741.9 | 3.82 | 3.39% | 18 |
| Citibank Kazakhstan | Citigroup (US) | 1,087.0 | 2.38 | 2.11% | 1 |
| Altyn Bank | China CITIC Bank Corp. Ltd (50.1%), China Shuangwei Inv Co., Ltd. (9.9%), and Halyk Bank of Kazakhstan (40.0%). | 888.7 | 1.95 | 1.73% | 6 |
| other banks | 4,235.2 | 9.28 | 8.23% | 64 | |
| Total | 51,441.1 | 112.77 | 100.00% | 255 | |
| Note: assets are as at end-2021; branch numbers are as at 02/05/2022. | |||||
| Note: ATF Bank was merged with Jýsan Bank at the end-2021. | |||||
| Note:Bank CentreCredit acquired Alfa-Bank in May 2022. It is now trading as Eco Centre Bank. | |||||
| Note: First Heartland Jýsan Bank was created after the merger of First Heartland Bank and the failing Tsesnabank in 2019. | |||||
| Nurbank dropped in assets to 468.758bn | |||||
| On 18 August 2022, Baiterek and Sberbank Group signed a contract for the sale and purchase of a controlling stake in SB Sberbank of Russia JSC JSC with suspensive conditions. As of the date of issuance of these condensed consolidated interim financial statements, the transaction has not been completed. |
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| CenterCredit has signed an agreement to buy the local arm of sanctions-hit Russia’s Alfa-Bank. Under the agreement, CenterCredit will buy a 100% stake in Alfa-Bank Kazakhstan for an undisclosed sum. | |||||
| Source: National Bank of Kazakhstan, Yearbooks research. | |||||
Foreign Investments – The Kazakh banking sector has gradually been opened up to foreign investment. Russian banks are the principal foreign investors in Kazakh banking (see below).
In 2007, Italy’s UniCredit Group acquired a 91.8% stake in ATF Bank. In the same year, Israel’s Bank Hapoalim purchased Kazakhstan Demir Bank. In 2008, South Korea’s Kookmin Bank completed its acquisition of a 23% share in Bank CenterCredit.
In 2009, Kazakhstan’s financial sector was hit by the effects of the global financial crisis. Several of the country’s large domestic banks suffered a liquidity crisis and had to be bailed out by Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund, Samruk‑Kazyna. Kazakhstan’s government took control of BTA Bank, Alliance Bank, and Temirbank. It also acquired a 25% stake in Halyk Bank and Kazkommertsbank.
Foreign investors, focussed on corporate and high net-worth individual business, include Citibank and Bank Hapoalim (through local subsidiary Bank Pozitiv) while in February 2010, India’s Punjab National Bank took a controlling stake in Danabank. HSBC, which sold out to Halyk in 2014, previously acquired the retail operations of RBS Kazakhstan for up to $52 million in June 2010.
Following UniCredit’s disposal of ATF Bank in March 2013, there is no substantial Western-owned retail bank in Kazakhstan.
However, since December 2020, in a move to open up and liberalize the market, foreign banks have been allowed to open local branches in Kazakhstan, whereas previously their only option was to set up a local subsidiary. To open a branch in Kazakhstan, the total assets of a foreign bank are required to be at least $20 billion. As of mid-2023, no foreign branches had been established.
Halyk Bank, the former State Savings Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan, is the biggest retail bank in the country. By the end-2023, the enlarged Halyk Bank, including Kazkom and Altyn Bank, was the largest bank by total bank assets, claiming market leadership in retail deposits (at approximately 34%) as of December 2023, underpinned by a network of 24 branches and 570 outlets. It also claimed 9.85 million retail clients, 2,300 corporate clients, 10 million internet retail banking clients, 7.9 million active monthly mobile app users, 4,579 ATMs, and 330,847 POS terminals as of December 2023.
Following the purchase of shares from Samruk-Kazyna, Almex Holding Group is Halyk’s largest shareholder, with 69.6% of the shares as of December 2023; Halkyk’s pension fund holds 1.9%, and the 28.5% balance is owned in GDR form by foreign investors. In addition to Halyk, Almex also owns insurance businesses in Kazakhstan.
In February 2014, Halyk announced the purchase of HSBC Bank Kazakhstan for the provisional sum of $176 million. HSBC, which bought the retail operations of RBS Kazakhstan for up to $52 million in June 2010, has been disposing of non-core assets. Rebranded as Altyn Bank, the former HSBC Bank is now a 100% subsidiary of Halyk Bank.
By end-2023, Halyk Group was the third largest financial group in the CIS region and the largest financial group in Kazakhstan in terms of assets. Halyk Group includes Halyk Bank, Kazkom, and Altyn Bank as well as insurance, leasing, asset management, and brokerage subsidiaries. In 2018, Halyk bank absorbed Kazkommertsbank.
In addition, Halyk Group has a presence in Russia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan while the former Kazkom had subsidiary banks in Russia (Moskommertsbank) and Tajikistan (Halyk Bank Tajikistan).
In 2023, the bank’s active retail customer base has grown to 10.2 million people, around the same as the economically active population of Kazakhstan.
Altyn Bank is the new brand of HSBC Kazakhstan, which was sold to Halyk for $176 million in February 2014. It purchased the retail operations of RBS Kazakhstan for up to $52 million in June 2010. Among the assets acquired were personal customer loan and credit card portfolios, four branches, 80 ATMs, and two support offices. Altyn Bank continued operations as part of the Halyk Group.
On April 24, 2018, Halyk Bank completed a sale of a 60% stake in Altyn’s share capital to foreign investors: China CITIC Bank Corporation Limited acquired 50.1% of the shares and China Shuangwei Investment acquired 9.9% of the shares previously owned by Halyk Bank. Kazakhstani shareholder’s remaining share of capital is 40%.
As of December 2023, Altyn Bank had over 317,000 retail customers in Kazakhstan, along with six branches and more than 80 ATMs.
Kazkommertsbank (Kazkom) claimed 16.4% of the retail deposit market as of end-2013, with a network including about 23 branches and 127 outlets. In 2014, the purchase of BTA was finalised and consolidated, with the combined bank ranking as the biggest Kazakh bank. The combined group had 2.4 million customers.
In 2015 Kazkom sold 95.75% of the shares in its subsidiary Kazkommertsbank-Kyrgyzstan, which was subsequently renamed Kyrgyzkommertsbank (see Kyrgyz Republic profile). In July 2017, Halyk Bank acquired the common shares of Kazkom and in 2018, Kazkom was merged into Halyk Bank.
Jysan Bank (formerly Tsesnabank) was originally controlled by Tsesna Investment Corporation, a conglomerate whose interests also extended to food processing, insurance, and media. In April 2017, Tsesnabank announced plans to acquire Bank CenterCredit but the planned merger stalled later that year.
On Feb 6, 2019, Kazakhstan completed a $3.4 billion bailout of Tsesnabank after a state-controlled financial group took over the bank, hit by bad loans to the agricultural sector. Local brokerage First Heartland Securities purchased a controlling stake in Tsesnabank for an undisclosed sum, and the bank was renamed “First Heartland Jysan Bank” to reflect its new ownership. In December 2020, the renamed Jysan Bank announced plans to acquire ATF Bank from its sole shareholder Galymzhan Yessenov. This acquisition, completed in September 2021, gave Jysan a 10% market share in assets, making it the second-largest bank in Kazakhstan after Halyk Bank.
As of 2023, Jysan Bank had 120 outlets and 960 ATMs throughout 22 regions of Kazakhstan.
Bank CenterCredit (BCC) – Non-controlling strategic investors have been encouraged, with Kookmin Bank of South Korea acquiring an initial 30% of Bank CenterCredit, which subsequently increased to 41.9% in February 2010, with the World Bank’s equity arm, IFC, acquiring 10%. As of 2023, it had over 3 million retail clients, 20 branches, over 140 branches and offices, 7,297 POS terminals, and 626 ATMs.
Bank CenterCredit ranks third in Kazakhstan by total bank assets in 2023. In February 2016, BCC sold its Russian subsidiary, Bank BCC-Moscow, to private Russian investors. By 2023, BCC was controlled by B. Balseitov – the board chairman (50.16%), and its Management (30.4%).
In 2021, Bank CenterCredit implemented more remote service channel functionalities, resulting in 90% of the services offered by the bank being available through its mobile app, including opening card accounts, money transfers and lending products. The bank reported 922,000 customers conducting P2P transfers in 2021. In 2021, the number of unique clients making P2R transfers increased by 145%, while the number of P2R transfers increased by 154%.
In 2021, Bank CenterCredit launched contactless payments through Google Pay, Tap to Phone contactless payments, Visa Alias mobile money transfers, and cross-border transfers using phone numbers.
In 2021, Bank CenterCredit launched a Visa Platinum business card aimed at Kazakhstan’s entrepreneurs. The bank claimed to be the first acquirer of a contactless ATM in Kazakhstan.
Bank CenterCredit is the largest representative of the Western Union in Kazakhstan. In 2021, the bank increased its market share in Kazakhstan from 7% to 21% according to Western Union.
In 2023, BCC acquired 100% of ordinary shares of Alfa Bank due to the sanctions imposed by the US on the international business of Russian banks. BCC subsequently renamed the bank ‘Eco Center Bank’ after reregistration.
ATF Bank was controlled by UniCredit until March 2013, when ownership passed to KazNitrogenGaz for a reported $500 million; the owner of KazNitrogenGaz is Kazakh businessman Galimzhan Yessenov. ATF Bank was originally purchased from Bulat Utemuratov (who took control of Temirbank and Alliance Bank in 2014) by Bank Austria-Creditanstalt in June 2007 for $2 billion. In 2021, ATF Bank had 18 branches.
ATF Bank was merged with Jýsan Bank at the end-2021.
ForteBank – In 2014, Alliance Bank was merged with the two banks ForteBank and Temirbank. In 2023, the enlarged ForteBank is now the fifth-largest bank by total bank assets. ForteBank has an extensive branch network including 20 branches and 100 cash offices in 39 cities and rural settlements of Kazakhstan.
Sberbank Kazakhstan – Russian Sberbank Group’s existing wholly-owned subsidiary was Kazakhstan’s second-biggest bank by assets. Sberbank has a branch network consisting of 17 branches. Sberbank withdrew from Kazakhstan in 2023 due to the Russian-Ukraine geopolitical tensions and sold the bank to Baiterek, a government-backed development institution. The bank was subsequently renamed Bereke Bank.
Kaspi Bank – Alongside other top ten banks, Kaspi Bank is controlled by one resident investor. Kaspi reported 22 branches, 203 outlets, and 730 loan application points in big stores in 2020. It operates the largest payment and FinTech ecosystem in Kazakhstan via its Super App and is one of the biggest in Eurasia. In 2023, the shareholding structure was: Baring Vostok Fund (27.53%); Management (3.41%), two private investors (47.7%), and public investors (20.18%).
In October 2020, parent company Kaspi Group’s shares floated on the London Stock Exchange, giving it a market capitalization of $6.5 billion. The group stated that Kaspi Bank held a market share of two-thirds of all digital payments in Kazakhstan.
In 2021, Kaspi Bank announced that its Payments and Marketplace Platforms accounted for the majority of its net income.
VTB Bank in Kazakhstan is part of the Moscow-based, state-controlled VTB Group, whose strategy is to expand throughout Eurasia, to become a top-five bank in each country. VTB Group reported a total of 3 million individual customers outside Russia, over half of whom are in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine, at end-2021. Operations in Kazakhstan began in May 2009.
Foreign Expansion of Kazakh Banks – During their earlier rapid growth phase, Kazakh banks expanded into other Eurasian countries. Before being absorbed into Halyk, Kazkom established Moskommertsbank in Russia in 2001 and also had a subsidiary bank in the Kyrgyz Republic. Halyk Bank retains its Halyk-branded subsidiaries in Russia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, while NBK Bank, its corporate and SME bank in Russia, was merged into Moskommertsbank in 2018. ATF Bank expanded into the Kyrgyz Republic, while Bank CenterCredit set up a Russian subsidiary, Bank BCC-Moscow, in 2008. For BTA, see Appendix.
Digital Banking
All retail banks in Kazakhstan offer online banking and mobile banking apps to their clients. From a low base in 2005, internet banking and mobile banking apps have grown fast in Kazakhstan, particularly the mobile side.
Internet banking, SMS banking, and mobile banking apps are offered widely. Most of the Kazakh banks have implemented online banking systems for corporate customers. Kazakhstan had an internet penetration rate of 91% at end-2023.
Internet and mobile banking are popular among retail users and small businesses. According to the NBK, mobile applications, internet banking, and other remote facilities are becoming the main channels for providing payment services to end users. By the end of 2023, a 9.2% increase in online banking users was recorded to approximately 52 million, compared to 47.6 million in 2022. About 23 million people were active monthly internet and mobile banking users in 2023, compared to 14 million in 2019.
During 2021, the NBK implemented infrastructure solutions in line with its ‘Program for the Development of the National Payment System’ until 2025. The key activities of the Program are related to the organization of the national payment infrastructure, with the Instant Payments System and the Interbank System of Payment Cards as the main components; the NBK’s efforts are aimed at standardization and ensuring operational interaction of market participants. Efforts include the unification of the QR code format, the transition to the ISO 20022 international standard format for financial messaging, and the development of Open API and Open Banking.
In 2021. the platforms of the Instant Payments System and the Interbank Payment Card System were developed and successfully tested together with financial market participants, and the necessary regulatory framework was established that determines the legal status and operation of the systems. The national standard for QR codes was developed and approved, allowing for integration between various QR code payment services.
In 2021, banks continued to work on improving online financial services offered to customers, continuing the growth trend in the volume of non-cash payments and money transfers.
The NBK proceeded with further development of the Identification Data Exchange Center service, which allows financial market participants to identify clients without visiting the offices of financial organizations by using biometric technology. Since its launch in 2020, more than 17 million requests from financial organizations have been processed through the service.
In 2021 the NBK, in conjunction with stakeholder government authorities, prepared the draft Program for establishing the National Digital Biometric Identification Platform. The program was developed to consolidate existing initiatives of government authorities in the field of biometric solutions into a unified system to improve the efficiency, security, and expansion of electronic government and financial services with the provision of multimodal user identification (face biometrics, fingerprints, voiceprint, etc.).
In 2022, the NBK launched its Instant Payment System (IPS), allowing consumers to make instant interbank transfers and payments in 24/7 mode using only a mobile phone number and a QR code. This is an important add-on to the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and existing clearing schemes and is intended to provide consumers of financial services with a simple and easy-to-use online payment service with the use of payment tools regardless of their servicing bank. The effort is part of a broader ambition to revamp the entire payment system and develop a strong technological infrastructure for digital financial services. By mid-2023, over 30 banks had joined the IPS, and the volume of transactions through this system increased by over 50% compared to the previous year.
In 2019, the instant mobile payment system Sunqar was launched, with the participation of the Kazakhstan Interbank Settlement Center and NBK. With this system, instant payments and money transfers can be sent using a mobile phone number, between customers of different banks. The mobile phone number can be associated with payment cards, bank accounts, and digital wallets.
As of 2020, Bank CenterCredit, Altyn Bank, SB China CITIC Bank, and Eurasian Bank participated in Sunqar, with Sunqar appearing in banks’ mobile banking apps. However, banks’ uptake of Sunqar has stalled, due to a lack of functionality, such as no mechanism for dispute resolution or identification. In 2022, Altyn Bank announced that customers of Altyn-i digital bank can make Suńqar transfers in the local currency to the accounts of other Kazakhstan banks’ clients using a mobile phone number.
There is no bank-independent electronic banking standard in Kazakhstan; each bank offers its proprietary system for banking purposes.
Digital Banking – All major retail banks in Kazakhstan now offer a wide range of digital services to corporate and retail customers.
Kaspi Bank has long been an innovator in digital banking. Starting with online car financing and online financial advice in 2013/2014, the bank developed a wide range of digital services, including an e-commerce marketplace, QR codes for P2P transactions, QR codes for payment at POS, Face ID for POS and e-commerce, e-signature and a unique set of digital services, encompassing all of the above plus account management, called Kaspi Red. The Kaspi Ecosystem comprises a payment platform to make and receive payments, money transfers, and other transactions using the Super App, QR Scan, payment cards, and e-wallets. Merchants can also accept payments through Kaspi Pay POS solutions and QR Checkout. Its Marketplace platform connects consumers and merchants through consumer finance products, and marketing services like Kaspi Travel, while the FinTech platform enables personal finance management through the Super App. In 2020 the FinTech platform was widened to include working capital and microfinance products for merchants.
In August 2020, Kaspi Pay was established as a separate legal entity fully owned by Kaspi. Kaspi Pay incorporates its Payment Platform technology.
Kaspi operates the Kaspi Super App, described as the gateway to the Kaspi Ecosystem. Kaspi connects consumers and merchants via its integrated technology platform and proprietary payments network. Through the Super App, customers can access Kaspi Payments, Marketplace, and FinTech platforms.
The Kaspi Super App is Kazakhstan’s most popular mobile app. During 2023, the Kaspi Super App MAU (Monthly Active Users) increased to 13.5 million, up from 12.6 million in 2022. Engagement levels continued to hit all-time highs, with DAU (Daily Active Users) increasing to 8.6 million (8.0 million in 2022) and the ratio of DAU to MAU reaching 65%, which the bank claimed was amongst the highest levels of user engagement of any leading Super App globally.
Kaspi Bank stated that mobile payments were fundamental to its Super App strategy, such as Kaspi QR Scan & Pay for consumers and Kaspi Pay POS Solutions for merchants. By the end of 2023, transactions per consumer reached an all-time high of 71 per month, while the Super App MAU went up 11.1% to approximately 14 million and DAU went up 14% to 9.1 million.
The high popularity of QR payments led Kaspi QR Scan & Pay to reach 92% of all acquiring transactions on Kaspi Pay in 2023. 92% of all Kaspi Gold in-store POS transactions migrated to Kaspi Pay from third parties. Kaspi’s buy-now-pay-later consumer finance products are strategically integrated with its Marketplace Platform, allowing consumers to purchase its Super App.
In 2021, Kaspi Bank worked with various government agencies prioritising the addition of high-frequency GovTech services to the Kaspi Super App. Consumers can apply for and receive social security payments directly, calculate and pay their taxes and fines, and register motor vehicles amongst other services. By the end of 2023, the bank’s GovTech Platform had 11 million MAU (2022: 9.6 million). Kaspi Bank also launched e-Docs, which allows consumers to access their ID cards, vaccine passports, driver’s licenses, marriage certificates, birth certificates, and other digital documents via the Kaspi Super App.
In 2022, Kaspi released new consumer products, with a particular focus on Kaspi e-Grocery with a plan to roll out e-Grocery nationwide and transform the food shopping experience in Kazakhstan and other markets over time. This is a joint project with Magnum, Kazakhstan’s leading food retailer, and would mean higher Super App engagement, faster financial growth, and further value creation for shareholders. In 2023, Kaspi acquired 90.01% stake in Magnum E-commerce Kazakhstan.
Halyk Bank – In 2021, Halyk Bank enhanced its remote service offerings, digitalized traditional banking products, and added them to the mobile app. It also created lifestyle services that are available through the Halyk Homebank app. In 2021, Halyk Homebank offered more than 6,700 types of payments and various domestic and international transfer services. Retail and corporate customers can transfer using telephone numbers, bank cards, or account details. Halyk Bank also launched contactless services in Kazakhstan, including QR codes, GPay, Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. In Q4 2021, the volume of payments and transfers exceeded KZT 1.4 trillion, more than four times the amount from Q1 2020.
The number of active users of the mobile app increased by more than 3.5 times since the beginning of 2020. More than 100 million people visit the Halyk Homebank website each month.
In digital banking, the user base of the Halyk Homebank app increased to 12.7 million customers in 2023, who conducted more than 130 million payments and transfers. Home bank had 7.9 million monthly active users (MAU) and 2,310,800 daily active users (DAU) in 2023, up a respective 46.2% and 34.9% year-on-year.
The Online bank platform for corporate and SME customers had 274,200 MAU for the web version and mobile app (up 8.1% year-on-year), and 514,700 online banking users in 2023.
As part of building a banking and FinTech ecosystem in Kazakhstan, the Halyk Market e-commerce sales platform was launched as a pilot in early 2021 and is expanding rapidly. By the end of 2023, Halyk Market reported a gross merchandise value (GMV) of KZT 63.9 billion, 4,557 partners (2,385 partners at the end of 2022), and 874,300 stock-keeping units (SKUs; 495,800 SKUs at the end of 2022).
Halyk Bank claims to be the largest transaction bank in Kazakhstan, processing transactions totalling KZT121.2 trillion, of which retail customers accounted for KZT11.7 trillion, up 48% year-on-year, and legal entities for KZT109.5 trillion, up 20% year-on-year.
Halyk Finservice provides technical processing support services for processing and storing data, namely collection, processing, and storage of cardholder transactional data for the Bank and other banks that act as card transaction agents. As of 31 December 2023, Halyk Finservice had total assets of KZT 4.3 billion and total equity of KZT 2.6 billion. In 2023, it reported a net loss of KZT478.3 million, due to an increase in spending on the development of Halyk Market and the launch of the new Halyk Logistics project. On 25 March 2021, the National Bank of Kazakhstan registered Halyk Finservice as a payment organisation.
Payment Services
In 2024, the more than 300 different payment services offered in Europe can be grouped into
- Card brands and card types
- E-money and prepaid products by issued brands
- Account-based payment services by issued brands, e.g. IBAN-based SCT/SDD services
- Advanced payment services. e.g. wallets by issued brands
- Digital payment services, e.g. digital scheme wallets by issued brands
Card Brands and Card Types
All retail banks in Kazakhstan issue cards. Payroll scheme cards form a large part of the card base. Most cards are internationally branded and there is no significant domestic scheme. In 2021, EMV migration continued and reached an estimated 90% of active cards in Kazakhstan.
In Kazakhstan, 21 banks and KazPost issued payment cards in 2023. 66% of cards in circulation were the cards of international payment systems Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and UnionPay, while 34% were local card programs, same as in 2022 and 33% in 2021. Halyk and Kaspi issue Altyn Cards, while Citibank Kazakhstan also issues a local card.
Kazakh card products like consumer cards, commercial cards, and purchasing cards range from classic cards to gold cards and platinum cards. Additional card features (e.g. picture cards, bonus points, PIN selection at ATMs, and card control by SMS notification) are used to attract cardholders. Also, individual picture cards and collector cards can be issued on demand. Further, card-to-card P2P services have been launched.
In recent years, ultra-premium and VIP cards have been used to attract high-net-worth individuals. In 2008, Mastercard teamed up with Kazkommertsbank on diamond-encrusted plastic cards. In November 2012, VISA and Sberbank (KZ) launched a diamond-embedded VISA Infinite Exclusive cards – made of pure gold, with pearl embossing and 26 diamonds to “meet the lifestyle needs” of its super-rich customers. More recently in 2018, Halyk Bank launched a Mastercard World Black debit card as part of its VIP account package.
From July 2023, banks and other card issuers will no longer issue Maestro cards. Instead, they will need to issue a Debit Mastercard. Maestro was launched in 1991 and was the world’s first debit card that could be used via an online network. About 400 million Maestro cards are in circulation worldwide, mainly across Europe. However, Maestro is not enabled for the demands of e-commerce and cannot be used for online or in-app payments, hence the decision to phase it out in favour of Mastercard Debit products. Visa announced that Electron cards will be phased out globally in 2024. The features of the Visa Debit card have been modified to match the features of the Visa Electron card.
Debit cards issued are Debit Mastercard, Maestro, VISA Debit, or Electron. There are no V-Pay cards in circulation.
Credit Cards issued are cards branded VISA, Mastercard, American Express, or UnionPay.
Prepaid Cards – Leading Kazakh banks issue prepaid cards and virtual prepaid cards for internet use.
Co-branded cards – In Kazakhstan, few co-branded cards are in circulation.
Contactless Cards and form-factors
The leading banks issue contactless cards branded PayPass or payWave, respectively. In April 2012, Kazkom launched the first Mastercard PayPass cards in Kazakhstan followed by ATF Bank. In November 2013, ATF Bank was the first to launch contactless VISA payWave cards in Kazakhstan followed by Halyk Bank. By 2017, VISA ranked Kazakhstan as its third-largest market for international contactless volume, and seventh-largest for overall contactless card usage.
In early 2020, Union Pay of China partnered with Halyk Bank to supply over 100,000 contactless payment cards in Kazakhstan.
Predefined contactless limits – Contactless payments of purchase amounts below a predefined contactless limit are without PIN or signature and transaction receipt. In Kazakhstan, the contactless limit for low-value payments without PIN/signature was set to be KZT 5,000 for cards with PayPass or payWave function. In March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mastercard announced that the contactless limit would be raised to KZT 25,000 to enable more contactless transactions.
Interchange Fee Arrangements
International and Intra European Non-EEA Interchange Fees are set by the members of the international card schemes to be applied in case of cross-border transactions or foreign cards used in Kazakhstan, respectively. The effective rates of Mastercard and VISA Europe can be found on the respective Mastercard and VISA websites.
Domestic Merchant Interchange Fee (DMIF) for Kazakh cards is defined by Mastercard and VISA, respectively.
E-Money
NBK, the central, bank noted that the use of electronic money as a means of payment is becoming more and more popular among the country’s population.
At end-2023, e-money transactions in Kazakhstan were made through 34 Kazakhstani e-money systems. Payment organisations acted as operators of 30 e-money systems out of 34 e-money systems in Kazakhstan, and four e-money were operated by second-tier banks and KazPost.
As of 2023, e-money transactions totalling KZT 596 billion were conducted via the services of payment organisations, accounting for 74% of the overall turnover of functioning systems of e-money.
Account-based Payment Services
In the Yearbooks, account-based payment services are classified as bank payment services on bank accounts offered by banks or by independent payment initiation service providers (PISP).
Credit transfers take the form of payment orders in Kazakhstan. They can be paper-based or automated. These are commonly submitted in paper form to banks before being processed electronically, but they can also be submitted in electronic form. Electronic credit transfers are used by companies for salary and supplier payments. Collection orders are typically used by the government for tax and customs payments and account for only a small number of transactions.
Direct debits are widely available in Kazakhstan, but usage is limited.
As in many European countries, bank transfers have been adopted for online payments, enabling consumers to pay directly from their bank account as an alternative service to payment cards.
Advanced Payment Services
In the Yearbooks, advanced payment services are classified as online wallets, e-wallets, and/or mobile wallets with any type of payment service chosen by the wallet user to complete the payment.
In selected Kazakh online shops, the online wallets PayPal, Skrill, Yandex, and Webmoney are offered as payment means.
PayPal – PayPal is available in Kazakhstan. PayPal is available in Kazakhstan. As of end-2023, PayPal reported 426 million active customer accounts globally, down 2% from 435 million in 2022. This consisted of 391 million customer active accounts and 35 million merchant active accounts across approximately 200 markets. PayPal’s total payment volume increased to $1.53 trillion (up 12% from 2022) and customer engagement grew to an average of 58 transactions per active account, driving 14% growth in transactions per active account at the end of 2023.
During 2020, with consumers worldwide embracing digital wallet capabilities, the company launched several related services including QR Code Checkout, Buy Now Pay Later, Crypto purchasing, and Xoom direct transfers to bank accounts and debit cards.
In June 2018, PayPal continued its shopping spree with a $400 million cash deal to acquire e-commerce platform Hyperwallet. The acquisition followed deals to buy Venmo, Xoom, Sweden’s iZettle (renamed Zettle) for $2.2 billion, and AI-based merchant marketing outfit Jetlore, as Paypal bids to extend its reach to all corners of the payments market.
In May 2022, PayPal Ventures invested in Modulr, an embedded payments platform for digital businesses, as part of a $108 million Series C funding round led by General Atlantic, Blenheim Chalcot, Frog Capital, and Highland Europe. Modular delivers payment infrastructure for over 200 top-tier customers, including Revolut, Wagestream, Sage, and BrightPay, and processes an annualized transaction value of more than £100 billion.
In 2023, PayPal is exploring the sale of Xoom, its international money transfer subsidiary, in a bid to cut costs and focus on high-growth business areas. Also, Stax Payments – an all-in-one payment provider for businesses – announced its partnership with PayPal in July 2023. This partnership will allow PayPal’s users to easily make payments with more than 20,000 merchants of Stax through a fast checkout process as well as new payment options such as Buy-now-pay-later solutions.
In 2023, PayPal launched its own US dollar-denominated stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD), which is fully backed by US dollar deposits, short-term US treasuries, and similar cash equivalents and designed for digital payments and Web3. Eligible US PayPal customers who purchase PayPal USD will be able to transfer the token to external wallets, send person-to-person payments, fund purchases at checkouts supported by PayPal, and convert cryptocurrency holdings to and from PayPal USD.
In January 2024, PayPal launched AI-powered features to drive personalised offerings for both merchants and customers based on the data it possesses. These features include Smart Receipts (for merchants) which predicts what shoppers may want to buy next from the merchant. The merchant can then offer personalised recommendations, and cashback offers on this receipt. A major feature for users is CashPass which will use give users personalised cashback offers based on an AI analysis of their spending activity.
In March 2024, PayPal launched a complete suite of payment processing tools for online small businesses in the UK, Canada, and across more than 20 European markets. The PayPal Complete Payments package enables small businesses to accept an expanded range of payment instruments including PayPal, buy now pay later, Apple Pay, Google Pay, credit and debit cards, and alternative payment methods from around the world. By April 2024, PayPal added new features to its complete payments solution for small businesses to enable small businesses to accept a range of payments including PayPal, Venmo and PayPal Pay Later products. PayPal also gave small businesses access to four new features to help them drive payment acceptance and enhance how they run their business, and this will include Apple Pay as a checkout option.
Digital Account-to-Account Payment Services
In the Yearbooks, digital payment services are classified as card-based payment services using EMV tokenization security on the internet combined with HCE NFC technology in case of contactless payments at POS terminals.
As of mid-2022, the Click to Pay online payment checkout service was available in Kazakhstan. Click to Pay is a joint service between Mastercard, VISA, Discover, and American Express, enabling consumers to make secure one-click payments without having to enter card details or passwords online.
Contactless payments on cards using Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, or Google Pay (previously Android Pay) made by foreign users at contactless POS terminals in Kazakhstan are processed as payments on contactless cards.
Global contactless transaction values will reach $10 trillion by 2027, up from $4.6 trillion in 2022, with contactless mobile and wearable payments expected to grow by 221% and contactless card payments by 119% over the same period.
Contactless ticketing spending will increase by more than 440% globally between 2022 and 2027, with growing prominence and support for OEM pay solutions, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay” being a “key enabler for mobile NFC ticketing across many markets.
Overall growth in contactless transaction values will be catalyzed by growing mobile payments adoption, with 99% of all smartphones capable of making contactless payments by 2027, up from 94% today, and average transaction values for Apple Pay reaching $28.20 and $33.40 for Google Pay.
Apple Pay has become one of the world’s most used digital payment methods. Its user base increased from 521.4 million to 535.8 million in 2022. By 2024, the total number of Apple Pay users was estimated at 640 million and is projected to exceed 700 million by 2027,
According to Apple’s Q2 last 2022, they saw a record of transactions with more than 1.8 billion processed during the quarter, up 40% year-over-year. This payment method is also available in over 90% of the US and 60% of stores globally.
Apple Pay is the #1 most popular digital wallet with a 92% market share, processing a global total of $6 trillion in payments in 2022 and produced a revenue of $1.9 billion.
As of 2023, Apple Pay processed 14.2% of all online consumer payments and 3.5% of all in-store purchases.
Around 51% of global iPhone users have enabled Apple Pay. There are 10 million Apple Pay-friendly contactless payment terminals worldwide.
The transactions made using Apple Pay are mostly in-store purchases, online transactions, and peer-to-peer payments. It is trendy for contactless payments, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2024, an estimated 60.2 million Apple Pay users in the United States; projections indicate that over 75 million consumers will use Apple Pay by 2030.
Putting it all together, Apple Pay is increasingly becoming an effective customer acquisition and retention feature for Apple. In June 2022, Apple Pay added Apple Pay Later, its buy-now-pay-later service, allowing users to split purchases into four equal instalments with no interest or fees. Initially launched in the US, the service is expected to roll out to other countries during 2023. In 2023, Apple launched its Card savings account from Goldman Sachs with a 4.15% annual percentage yield. Apple Wallet users can set up and manage a savings account directly from Apple Card in Wallet, with no fees, no minimum deposits, and no minimum balance requirements.
Apple Pay is available from 13 banks in Kazakhstan.
Google Pay has 150 million users across 42 global markets.
In January 2022, it was reported that the company was planning to transform Google Pay into a “comprehensive digital wallet”, following the app’s reported slow growth and the shutdown of Plex. In April, it was reported that Google was planning to revive the “Google Wallet” branding in a new app or interface and integrate with Google Pay. Google officially announced Google Wallet on May 11, 2022, at the 2022 Google I/O keynote. The app began rolling out on Android smartphones on July 18, replacing the 2018 app and co-existing with the 2020 Google Pay app in the US. While the app name itself was changed from Google Pay to Google Wallet, the service name of actually paying for things online or in-store remains as “Google Pay.”
In the US, Google Pay has over 25.2 million users. Also, Google Pay is used on nearly 800,000 websites as a secure payment gateway. Roughly 20% of all mobile purchases are made using this digital payment processor. Google Pay ranks 3rd among mobile payment methods globally. In Russia, it has an online usage distribution of 35.18% and has recorded approximately 1,281,838 transactions online. Available in 19 countries, 30% of Google Pay’s active users are millennials. It is one of Canada’s top 5 online payment apps and is the primary mobile payment method for 2,193 businesses worldwide. In India, Google Pay boasts 67 million active users and holds 36.10% of the mobile application market. Its widespread adoption and significant market share highlight its growing importance in the global digital payment landscape.
As of 2023, Google Pay continues to expand its reach and user base, with significant growth observed across various global markets. Google Pay’s user base has exceeded 300 million globally, reflecting its increased adoption as a preferred payment method. The platform has also expanded its services, including integrating features like Google Wallet, which enhances the digital payment experience by allowing users to store more than just payment methods, such as IDs and tickets. This expansion aligns with Google’s broader strategy to transform Google Pay into a comprehensive digital wallet.
In 2024, Google Pay’s growth is expected to continue, driven by its presence in 42 markets worldwide, and its adoption in regions like India, where it remains one of the top digital payment methods with 67 million active users. Additionally, Google Pay’s integration with various online platforms and its use in 800,000 websites as a secure payment gateway highlight its growing importance in digital transactions.
In 2024, Google announced it will discontinue Google Pay in the US by June 2024, transitioning users to Google Wallet.
Google Pay is available from 14 banks in Kazakhstan.
Samsung Pay is available in 29 countries worldwide and has an estimated 140 million users. Samsung Pay works with Galaxy phones, including the latest Galaxy S22. Samsung claims that its system will work with almost all point-of-sale systems: NFC, magnetic stripe, and EMV (Europay, MasterCard, and Visa) terminals for chip-based cards.
In May 2020, Samsung Pay unveiled Samsung Money by SoFi, a mobile-first money management experience that makes available a cash management account and accompanying Mastercard debit card via the Samsung Pay app, in partnership with fintech company SoFi.
In June 2022, Samsung Pay was renamed to Samsung Wallet in the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Along with the renaming came new features such as the ability to store digital assets and digital keys within the Wallet app.
Samsung Pay was made available in Kazakhstan in March 2020, with the backing of local banks including Altyn Bank, Halyk Bank, and Alfa Bank.
Overview of Cashless Payments
Cash is the predominant method of payment in Kazakhstan for both individuals and companies, although the share of non-cash payments is rising rapidly as payment infrastructure expands. The use of payment cards in Kazakhstan, particularly debit cards, has increased rapidly in recent years.
In 2021, non-cash operations via payment cards showed 2.2x growth in terms of number and a 2.1x growth in terms of value, for 6.3 billion transactions and KZT 73.1 trillion respectively. During 2023, the share of non-cash operations grew from 83% to 86% and the share of cash withdrawals decreased from 17% to 14%. In 2023, cash withdrawals from payment cards decreased by 5.2% and amounted to 241.1 million operations for a value of KZT 23.1 trillion.
Card transactions, including ATM withdrawals, are the largest category, with 11,559 million in 2023, representing 91.08% of the total. Credit transfers are the second most important cashless payment instrument in volume (992.86 million) in 2023. The use of direct debits is falling sharply with a 49.60% decline in 2023 to 107.65 million (2022: 213.59).
Cheques are rarely used in Kazakhstan.
| 2 - Cashless Transactions in Kazakhstan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Millions) | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | GR 22/23 | CAGR 5Y |
| Card transactions at ATMs+POS | 1,571.22 | 3,174.35 | 6,542.49 | 8,826.10 | 11,558.97 | 30.96% | 212.52% |
| Payment orders (credit transfers) | 242.20 | 271.44 | 293.14 | 327.15 | 992.86 | 203.49% | 122.76% |
| Direct debiting of a banking account | 46.59 | 29.93 | 49.19 | 213.59 | 107.65 | -49.60% | na |
| Payment request orders (debit transfers) | 1.60 | 1.11 | 1.60 | 2.95 | 4.70 | 59.44% | 108.22% |
| Collection orders (debit transfers) | 0.96 | 1.48 | 2.07 | 3.33 | 4.29 | 28.93% | 48.78% |
| Paid bill of exchange | 36.44 | 32.51 | 26.79 | 27.78 | 21.94 | -21.01% | na |
| Other payment instruments | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.03 | 2600.00% | 55.18% |
| Total | 1,899.01 | 3,510.82 | 6,915.28 | 9,400.89 | 12,690.43 | 34.99% | 70.88% |
| Card transactions at ATMs+POS per capita | 84.3 | 168.1 | 342.1 | 449.5 | 580.8 | 29.21% | 207.64% |
| Payment orders (credit transfers) per capita | 13.0 | 14.4 | 15.3 | 16.7 | 49.9 | 199.43% | 119.28% |
| Direct debiting of a banking account per capita | 2.5 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 10.9 | 5.4 | -50.27% | na |
| Payment request orders (debit transfers) per capita | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 57.30% | 104.97% |
| Collection orders (debit transfers) per capita | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 27.21% | 46.46% |
| Paid bill of exchange per capita | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.1 | -22.07% | na |
| Other payment instruments per capita | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2563.90% | 52.76% |
| Total cashless payments per capita | 101.9 | 186.0 | 361.6 | 478.8 | 637.7 | 33.19% | 68.21% |
| Note: due to new reporting methods from the NBK, figures for 2018 and 2019 are not fully comparable to those of previous years. | |||||||
| Note: up to and including 2017, card transactions inclue ATM withdrawals; other payment instruments include cheques, direct debits and executed bill credits. | |||||||
| Note: from 2018 card transactions no longer include ATM withdrawals and other payment instruments include only cheques. | |||||||
| Source: National Bank of Kazakhstan. | |||||||
Exchange Rates
The currency of Kazakhstan is the Kazakhstani Tenge (KZT). In 2018, the tenge devalued to 344.71: $1. By 2023, it amounted to 456.14.
After averaging KZT 152 to the US dollar during 2013, Kazakhstan’s tightly managed currency, the tenge, was devalued by 16% in February 2014 and was trading at around KZT 180: $1 by mid-year.
Further devaluation rumors circulated in late July and August 2014. Kazkom said dollar withdrawals from its ATMs, normally $100,000-$150,000 per day, reached $450,000 on July 31.
The previous devaluation was by 18% in February 2009. In July 2013, further rumors were prompted by the central bank’s proposal to issue KZT 20,000 notes (the biggest existing notes being KZT 10,000). Though devaluation talk was officially denied by NBK it was merely delayed until February 2014.
| 3 - Average Exchange Rates | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| 1 EUR in KZT | 428.51 | 471.44 | 503.99 | 484.83 | 493.01 |
| 1 USD in KZT | 382.75 | 412.95 | 425.89 | 460.23 | 456.14 |
| Source: National Bank of Kazakhstan. | |||||
Market Infrastructure
National Bank of Kazakhstan
Banking and financial market supervision was the responsibility of a separate agency, AFN (Agency for Regulation and Supervision of the Financial Market and Financial Organisations), for seven years up to 2011. However, a presidential decree of April 13, 2011, abolished AFN as well as RFCA (Agency for Regional Financial Centre of the City of Almaty). All functions and powers of both organizations were to be transferred to NBK under the terms of the decree.
The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK), the central bank, is responsible for oversight of the national payment system, including the RTGS system known as ISMT (Interbank System of Money Transfer) and Interbank Clearing System (ICS), which is the clearing system for low-value retail payments. NBK says that ICS is carried out on a multilateral basis, without preliminary depositing of amounts at the participant’s account and with a ceiling of KZT 5 million for a single payment.
Operational management of both systems is provided by the central bank’s subsidiary Kazakhstan Interbank Settlement Centre (KISC), whose responsibilities include payment cards. KISC is the settlement agent of KAZNNSS, which has undertaken national clearing on domestic transactions with VISA cards since 1999 and on Mastercard cards since 2009.
In 2023, 25.5 million transactions for a value of KZT 969.3 trillion were processed through the Interbank System of Money Transfers and the Interbank Clearing System. In 2021 non-cash operations via payment cards showed a 31% growth in terms of quantity and volume apiece, amounting to 11.3 billion transactions of KZT 141.9 trillion. The percentage of non-cash operations in the overall structure of payments with the use of payment cards accounted for 36.7% in terms of quantity of transactions and 31.8% in terms of volume. Compared to 2022, the volume of payments in the payment systems increased by 17% (by 2.7 million transactions), and value by 1.3% (by KZT 6.63 trillion).
In 2023, 19 payment systems were functioning within Kazakhstan, of which the Interbank System of Money Transfers and the Interbank Clearing System belong to the NBK. The NBK’s payment systems process a significant portion of the total volume of non-cash payments in the country. Private payment systems are represented by payment card systems and money transfer systems.
At the end of 2023, 31 financial organisations, including all infrastructure entities of the financial market, were members of the Interbank System of Money Transfers. In 2023, 25.5 million payments amounting to KZT 969.3 trillion were processed through the system. Compared to 2022, the value increased by 24.8% (by KZT 192.4 trillion), and the volume went up by 17% (by 3.7 million transactions).
At the end of 2023, 22 financial organisations were members of the Interbank Clearing System. In 2023, 48.2 million electronic payment messages worth KZT 11 trillion were processed through the system. Compared to 2022, the number of payment messages in the clearing system went up by 10.3% (by 4.5 million transactions), and value increased by 6.5% (by KZT 669.7 billion).
By the end of 2023, the NBK registered 130 payment organisations. As of 2023, the volume of transactions processed through the services of payment organisations increased by 60.2% to 956.7 million transactions, while the value amounted to KZT 8.03 trillion, a 35% growth compared to 2022. The significant growth was driven by mobile and internet transactions, which accounted for 515 million transactions worth KZT 4.87 trillion
NBK took the lead in setting up JSC National Processing Center, intended to be Kazakhstan’s national processing center for card transactions in 1999. Although the unit was fully equipped, it never won substantial support from market players, and ownership of the government’s share was transferred to the Committee of State Assets and Privatisation of the Ministry of Finance for free in May 2007. Halyk Bank owned 25% of the JSC Processing Center at that time.
Kazpost
Kazpost is a Kazakhstan postal operator, which represents Kazakhstan’s postal administration in the Universal Postal Union (UPI) – one of the basic elements of the national infrastructure. Kazpost provides a wide range of postal, financial, brokerage, agency, and electronic services.
Through its more than 2,000 branches, Kazpost also provides financial services like disbursement of pensions and payment of utility bills, in addition to its core mail and logistical functions. Following the abandonment of KazCard, Kazpost became an associate member of VISA in 2007. It has been empowered to operate bank accounts accept deposits and issue VISA debit cards, since 2008. Kazpost has a correspondent account at NBK and participates in the ISMT and Interbank Clearing System.
In June 2020, the Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund revealed plans to sell Kazpost and Samruk-Energy to a strategic investor in 2021, but the sale was postponed for a further two years. The proposed sale is part of a state privatization drive by the government. Until the sale goes through, the government is developing strategic initiatives to improve the company’s operating activities.
First Credit Bureau
First Credit Bureau (1CB) was formed in 2005 by seven major banks – Alliance Bank, ATF Bank, Bank TuranAlem, Bank CenterCredit, Kazkom, Halyk Bank, and Tsesnabank – with CreditInfo Schufa Group as partner and reported more than 70 customers in mid-2014. As of 2023, FCB had more than 1,200 recipient providers and held more than 35 million credit histories.
Card Issuers – Overview
The banks in Kazakhstan issue credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards in combination with bank accounts. Addressing the specific needs of personal banking and business banking, the card portfolio is composed of consumer cards, business cards, and corporate cards.
Dedicated card products are offered for individual client segments: families, millennials, students, affluent clients, small business clients, corporate clients, and even basic account clients. The credit cards offered range from classic cards to gold cards and platinum cards.
According to NBK, 18 banks issued payment cards in Kazakhstan as of end-2023, with ‘Kazpost,’ the postal network, completing the list of issuers.
The Kazakh banks issue debit cards branded, Mastercard, Maestro, VISA, or Electron, and delayed debit cards and credit cards branded Mastercard or VISA. Halyk Bank, ATF Bank, and Sberbank issue UnionPay cards. Halyk Bank issues American Express cards. In June 2010, Kazkommertsbank became the first Eurasian bank to issue American Express Blue credit cards.
Three banks have developed local debit cards programmes, such as Halyk Bank’s Altyn Card, Citibank Kazakhstan, and Kaspi Bank. But most local cards have been phased out in favor of VISA and to a small extent Mastercard/Debit Mastercard issuance. Since August 2013, KazPost has been a principal member of VISA International and issues VISA cards.
In June 2019, Kaspi Bank launched its own proprietary payments network. According to the NBK, this network processed more transaction volumes than VISA and Mastercard combined by December 2019. Kaspi’s proprietary payment network transactions accounted for 54% of in-store transactions in Kazakhstan in 2020, while Visa and Mastercard had an aggregate share of 42% of total payment network transactions. It remained Kazakhstan’s leading digital payments provider with a 65% market share, a substantial increase from 39% in 2019.
In 2023, the Payments Platform generated total revenue of KZT 479 billion, representing an increase of 44% from KZT 333 billion in 2022. The Payment Platform’s 2023 net income of KZT 309 billion represented a growth of 55% up from KZT 199 billion in 2022. Payments Platform active consumers increased 14% year-on-year to 12.9 million by end-2023.
The leading card issuer banks are the enlarged Halyk Bank, Kaspi Bank, Tesnabank/BCC, and ATF Bank. Table 4 illustrates the card brands issued by the Kazakh banks as of mid-2024.
| 4 - Leading Card Issuers in Kazakhstan | ||
|---|---|---|
| Domestic Issuers | Issued Card Brands | Owned by |
| Halyk Bank | Mastercard, VISA, UnionPay; Electron, AmExp | Almex Holding Group: 69.6%, GSRs 28.5%; Others: 1.9% |
| Kazkommertsbank | Mastercard, VISA, AmExp, Diners; Debit MasterCard, VISA Debit | 2017: Halyk Bank: 74.72%, Holding Group Almex: 25.05%, others: 0.23% |
| Kaspi Bank | Mastercard, VISA; Electron | Baring Vostok Fund: 27.53%; Management: 3.41%; investors: 68.06% |
| Bank CenterCredit (BCC) | Mastercard, VISA; Maestro, Electron | B.Balseitov (Board Chairman): 48.96%, Management: 39.77% investors: 11.27% |
| Sberbank of Russia KZ | Mastercard, VISA, UnionPay; Maestro, Electron | Sberbank Group (RUS) |
| First Heartland Jýsan Bank | Mastercard, VISA; Debit Mastercard, Electron | First Heartland Securities (KZ): 78.73%, Others: 21.27% |
| Bank RBK | Debit MastercardVISA, Electron | KCC FINANC LLP: 89.71%, Others: 10.29% |
| Eurasian Bank | Debit Mastercard | Eurasian Financial Company (EFC): 100% |
| Altyn Bank | Mastercard, Debit Mastercard, VISA Debit | China CITIC Bank Corp. Ltd (50.1%), China Shuangwei Inv Co., Ltd. (9.9%), and Halyk Bank of Kazakhstan (40.0%). |
| ForteBank | Mastercard, VISA; Debit MasterCard, VISA Debit | Private investor (Bulat Utemuratov): 81.82%, free float: 18.18% |
| Nurbank | Mastercard, VISA; Maestro, Electron | JP Finance Group (KZ): 82.67% |
| other banks | Mastercard, VISA; Maestro, Electron | other bank owners |
| Source: PCM research. | ||
Outlook – By mid-2024, Kazakh card issuers face the following notable challenges:
- Rollout of online/mobile bank payment services combined with mobile apps
- Implementation of 3D-Secure 2.3; launch of digital wallets, in-app payments, in-store payments
- Competition from card-less payment service providers: PISPs, AISPs, FinTechs
- Tokenisation security combined with HCE NFC and card credentials on-file
- Open Banking ecosystem and demanded access to card accounts (XS2A)
Card Processors and PSPs
In Europe, the payment processing industry is composed of card processors, ATM/POS network hub processors, e-/m-payment service processors (PSPs), and specialized processors (e.g., CSM processors, and TSM services).
In Kazakhstan, card issuer processing services range from technical issuer processing, including card printing, to full cardholder processing services. They include all types of cards and card technologies allowing for card use at multiple channels (i.e. at ATMs, POS terminals, on the internet, and in-store – mobile payments in the future).
Acquirer processing services in the country range from technical acquirer processing, including POS terminal services, to full merchant processing services.
Many of the Kazakh banks process their cards in-house. Before its acquisition by Halyk Bank, Kazkom operated LLP Processing Company, of which it owned 100%, whose primary business was to provide payment card processing.
Most banks arrange authorization, clearing, and settlement through VISA, which accounted for 50% of cards issued in Kazakhstan at end-2023, and Mastercard. ATM and POS transactions are categorized by VISA and Mastercard as local or international.
With local transactions, net positions among member banks are calculated and routed back to KISC for settlement. Transactions by foreigners who use payment cards in Kazakhstan or transactions by Kazakh nationals in foreign card systems are settled abroad through correspondent banks.
According to KISC, 18 Kazakhstan banks are participating in VISA’s KAZNNSS including Halyk Bank, Citibank Kazakhstan, Bank CenterCredit, ForteBank, and ATF Bank.
The 15 participants in KAZNNSS Mastercard include Alfa Bank, ATF Bank, Halyk Bank, ForteBank, Bank CenterCredit, Bank Kassa Nova, Kazkom, Nurbank, Sberbank, Kaspi Bank, and Eurasian Bank, the latter two joining in 2013.
KISC – The Kazakhstan Interbank Settlement Centre of the National Bank of Kazakhstan (KISC) was established by the decree of the Board of Directors of the National Bank of Kazakhstan dated December 30, 1995, according to the reforming program of Kazakhstan Banking System. The National Bank of Kazakhstan is the founder and authorized body of KISC. The goal of KISC is to provide an effective, stable, and secure functioning of the payment system.
The main activity of KISC is the realization of interbank payments via the Interbank System of Money Transfer and Interbank Clearing. Payments for services from clients are the main source of revenue for KISC.
Online Payment Service Processors (PSPs)
Online payment service processors (PSPs) are specialized technical processors for all kinds of secure online payments and mobile payments. Some of them also offer virtual PSP platform services (VPSP) for bank acquirers who want to take advantage of a kind of ‘internet network processor’.
Online shops of merchants are directly connected by an API interface or a hosted payment page either to the internet payment gateway of a bank acquirer, or they are connected to multi-acquirers through a PSP.
PSPs usually partner with more than one card acquirer and payment initiation service provider. Core services offered by PSPs may include payment gateways to card acquirers and other online payment service providers, online payment processing, risk management services, and collection services for merchants.
Security technologies applied to ensure secure online card payments include EMV tokenization and strong 3D-Secure (MCSC, VbV, SafeKey) combined with one-time tokens. For card-less payment services, the security technologies applied include user/password combined with one-time tokens and online banking access with one-time TAN.
Acquiring and Acceptance
In Europe, most acquirers offer multi-channel card acceptance and value-added merchant services at POS terminals, mobile MPOS terminals, and online shops. The leading acquirers usually offer their services cross-border.
In addition, innovative acquirers also offer the acceptance of cardless payment services based on partner agreements with the issuer of those payment services (e.g. account-based payments, wallets, prepaid products).
Most acquirers either operate their acquirer systems and ATM/POS/MPOS network service hubs, or they use the processing services of external processors. To service online merchants in Europe, they might operate their own PSP processing platforms or co-operate with one or more specialized online payment service processors (PSPs).
Since 2012, Eurasian acquirers have competed in their home markets, cross-border in the CIS region, cross-channel at POS terminals, and servicing online merchants. In 2016, innovative acquirers started to offer omnichannel and multi-payment acceptance.
By 2022, omnichannel acceptance includes the ability to service all channels (i.e. POS/MPOS terminals, mobile in-store, online shops, in-app), and to accept multiple payment means in all of these channels. Multi-payment services demanded by merchants include cards, online bank payments, online wallets, digital wallets, and prepaid products.
Outlook – By mid-2024, Kazakh acquirers face the following notable challenges:
- Rollout of contactless and virtual POS/MPOS terminals; Interchange++
- Competition from pan-regional and global acquirers; M&A consolidation
- Omni-channel payment acceptance: POS/MPOS, online, mobile in-app, mobile in-store
- Cross-border competition, omnichannel competition, finding PSP partners and PISP partners
- New security standards: e.g. 3D-Secure 2.0; tokenisation security, Strong Customer Authentication
All Kazakh banks acquire Mastercard and VISA card brands. Before its acquisition by Halyk Bank, Kazkom was the only bank in Kazakhstan to accept payments by cards VISA, Mastercard, American Express, UnionPay, and JCB. Domestic card brands are acquired by the respective issuer banks. In October 2019, UnionPay claimed that 93% of ATM and POS locations in Kazakhstan accepted UnionPay. UnionPay also claimed that around 1.8 million of its cards had been issued in Kazakhstan by six banks.
According to NBK, 18 banks accept payment cards and install POS terminals in Kazakhstan as at end-2023, with ‘Kazpost,’ the postal network, completing the list of acquirers. The leading acquirers are the enlarged Halyk Bank and Kaspi Bank.
Kaspi Bank also positions Kaspi Pay as the acquiring platform of choice for merchants, with a range of acquiring solutions launched in 2020, including Smart POS, Mobile POS (m-POS), and Kaspi QR Checkout. Over 2023, Kaspi Bank prioritised growth in the adoption of the Kaspi Pay Super App for merchants, with over 600,000 merchants signed up, a growth of 23.7% from 2022. Primarily via the roll-out of the Kaspi Pay Super App, the number of active merchants increased by 38% year-over-year.
Payments Platform merchant onboarding accelerated throughout 2023 while existing merchants shifted more of their volumes to Kaspi Pay. Payments Platform active consumers increased 14% year-over-year, to reach 12.9 million in 2023 and the Payment Platform has 581,000 merchants.
Table 5 illustrates the card brands accepted by the Kazakh acquirers as of mid-2024.
| 5 - Leading Acquirers in Kazakhstan | ||
|---|---|---|
| Domestic Acquirers | Acceptance Brands offered | Owned by |
| Halyk Bank | Mastercard, VISA, UnionPay; Maestro, Electron; Altyn; AmExp; JCB | Almex Holding Group: 69.6%, GSRs 28.5%; Others: 1.9% |
| Kazkommertsbank | Mastercard, VISA, AmExp, JCB, Diners, Discover; Maestro, Electron | 2017: Halyk Bank: 74.72%, Holding Group Almex: 25.05%, others: 0.23% |
| Kaspi Bank | Mastercard, VISA; Electron | Baring Vostok Fund: 27.53%; Management: 3.41%; investors: 68.06% |
| Bank CenterCredit (BCC) | Mastercard, VISA; Electron | B.Balseitov (Board Chairman): 48.96%, Management: 39.77% investors: 11.27% |
| First Heartland Jýsan Bank | Mastercard, VISA; Electron | First Heartland Securities (KZ): 78.73%, Others: 21.27% |
| other acquirer banks | Mastercard, VISA; Maestro, Electron | other bank owners |
| Source: PCM research | ||
ATM Terminal Infrastructure
Kazakhstan’s acceptance infrastructure has continued to expand rapidly despite the problems of the major banks. By end-2023, ATM density was 635.6 per million inhabitants, one of the highest levels in the Eurasian region and second only to Ukraine.
Accepted card brands at Kazakh ATMs are debit cards (Mastercard, Maestro, VISA, Electron, and MIR) and credit cards (Mastercard, VISA, American Express, Discover, JCB, and UnionPay). Accepted card brands at ATMs also include Cirrus, Plus, and Pulse. The EMV migration of ATM terminals continued.
According to the NBK, there were 12,649 ATMs at the end-2023, down by 2.08% from 2022.
| 6 - ATMs in Kazakhstan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | GR 22/23 | CAGR 5Y | |
| ATMs | 11,315 | 12,728 | 12,443 | 12,391 | 12,649 | 2.08% | 2.80% |
| # ATM Terminals per 1m capita - Kazakhstan | 607.3 | 674.2 | 650.7 | 631.1 | 635.6 | 0.72% | 1.20% |
| # ATM Terminals per 1m capita - EA10 total | 728.9 | 713.6 | 698.7 | 679.4 | 706.3 | 3.96% | -0.17% |
| Source: National Bank of Kazakhstan. | |||||||
As at end-2023, the enlarged Halyk Bank had 4,579 ATMs, representing around 36% of the national ATM network. In July 2017, Halyk Bank and Kazkom started the integration of their ATM networks. The additional cash withdrawal fees have been canceled for cardholders using the unified ATM network of both banks.
Six banks – ATF, Forte, Sberbank, Kaspi, BCC, and Eurasian Bank – teamed up to combine access to their ATM networks in 2018 via the “ATM Union”, and report more than 4,000 ATMs in the combined network.
POS Terminal Infrastructure
Kazakhstan’s acceptance infrastructure has continued to expand rapidly despite the problems of the major banks. Like ATMs, the POS network has continued to grow. In 2013, there were 22,904 retailers accepting payment cards, in 33,709 retail outlets. In 2023, there were 793,065 (2022: 567,687) retailers accepting payment cards, in 1,033,770 (2022: 815,501) retail outlets.
Accepted card brands at most Kazakh POS terminals are debit cards (Mastercard, Maestro, VISA, Electron, and MIR), and credit cards (Mastercard, VISA, American Express, Discover, and JCB). UnionPay cards are accepted at selected merchant outlets frequented by tourists. The EMV migration of POS terminals continues.
According to the NBK, there were 1,041,884 POS terminals in 2023, up by 25.26% from 2022. NBK does not provide POS payment statistics.
| 7 - POS Terminals in Kazakhstan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | GR 22/23 | CAGR 5Y | |
| Number of merchants | 96,428 | 108,159 | 273,947 | 567,687 | 793,065 | 39.70% | 57.23% |
| POS terminals | 170,410 | 211,764 | 509,194 | 831,780 | 1,041,884 | 25.26% | 50.31% |
| - at banks | 8,720 | 8,785 | 8,510 | 16,279 | 8,114 | -50.16% | -1.65% |
| - at merchants | 161,690 | 202,979 | 500,684 | 815,501 | 1,033,770 | 26.77% | 52.10% |
| # POS Terminals per 1m capita - Kazakhstan | 9,146.2 | 11,216.6 | 26,628.1 | 42,364.1 | 52,355.5 | 23.58% | 47.96% |
| # POS Terminals per 1m capita - EA10 total | 15,041.9 | 17,950.0 | 19,042.0 | 21,172.0 | 23,259.9 | 9.86% | 12.48% |
| Source: National Bank of Kazakhstan. | |||||||
Among individual banks, Halyk Bank claims the largest POS network in the country. As at end-2023, the enlarged Halyk Bank reported 330,847 POS terminals in all regions of Kazakhstan, up from 275,812 in 2022. Halyk Bank’s POS network represents 32% of all POS terminals in the country. In 2020, Halyk launched a mobile POS app.
In 2023, ForteBank reported 15,200 POS terminals, up from 14,692 in 2022.
MPOS Terminals – Small and mobile merchants have started to use their smartphones and tablet PCs as mini-POS+ECR devices with added chip reader dongles. Also, merchants can initiate MOTO-like card payments on smartphones and tablets by downloading a payment app.
In December 2012, Square clones like iZettle, SumUp, and others launched their services in Europe and also are expected to support Kazakh merchants in the future.
During 2018 and 2019, with the introduction of Samsung Pay, Google Pay, and Apple Pay in the country, banks rolled out several mPOS terminal initiatives. In May 2020, Sberbank Kazakhstan launched SberPOS as a mobile smartphone POS application to enable contactless payment via smartphone.
Kaspi Pay announced in 2021 that approximately 30% of its POS devices were physical terminals, with the majority being app-based.
Remote Internet Payments – Cards & More
Kazakhstan is a small emerging e-commerce market in Eurasia, but the uptake of e-commerce services is growing swiftly with the proliferation of mobile devices and integrated non-cash payment services.
Internet Use – According to official statistics, in 2023, the level of Internet penetration in Kazakhstan was 91%, available through desktop devices, mobile phones, tablets, and other smart Internet-enabled devices.
According to the NBK, the volume of online retail sales reached 482 billion tenge ($1 billion). Almost one-fifth of the total volume of online retail in 2021 was done via mobile phones. E-commerce volume and value have been showing double-digit growth for the last three years at least and are set to grow strongly over the next few years.
E-commerce retail is estimated to represent around 20% of total retail trade. As of 2021, there were over 2,500 online e-commerce stores in Kazakhstan. According to the government, 70% of Kazakhstan’s e-commerce purchases are products, mostly construction materials and household appliances, and 30% are services, mostly flight and train tickets, tickets for cultural events, and communal services payments.
In 2023, the volume of the retail e-commerce (domestic market), considering marketplaces, amounted to KZT 2,439.8 billion, of which the turnover of retail trade through the e-commerce platform (marketplace) amounted to KZT 1,767.6 billion (72.4%), retail enterprises selling goods through their Internet resource – KZT 672.2 million (27.6%).
The number of internet/mobile payments reached 956.7 million transactions, a rise of 59.9% from 2022, while the value of online payments reached KZT 8,034.0 billion, a rise of 35.05% from 2022.
The ATV per online payment accounted for KZT 8.4 in 2023.
| 8 - Internet Use in Kazakhstan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | GR 22/23 | CAGR 5Y | |
| Number of mobile phone subscribers (000s) | 25,820.3 | 24,293.9 | 24,423.1 | 25,181.4 | 25,181.4 | 0.00% | -0.77% |
| Mobile phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants | 138.6% | 134.1% | 127.5% | 130.4% | 130.4% | 0.00% | -1.73% |
| Number of internet users (000s) | 15,255.7 | 16,225.1 | 16,445.3 | 17,476.4 | 17,476.4 | 0.00% | 3.78% |
| Internet users per 100 inhabitants (aged 16-74) | 81.9% | 85.9% | 85.9% | 90.9% | 90.9% | 0.00% | 2.87% |
| Dynamics of Online Payments | |||||||
| Number of Internet/mobile payments (m) | 460.2 | 430.1 | 533.5 | 598.3 | 956.7 | 59.90% | 38.14% |
| Value of Internet/mobile payments (KZT bn) | 1,993.0 | 2,287.0 | 3,432.0 | 5,949.0 | 8,034.0 | 35.05% | 39.79% |
| ATV per online payment (KZT) | 4.33 | 5.32 | 6.43 | 9.94 | 8.40 | -15.54% | 1.20% |
| Source: Agency of Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan (KazStat), ITU, NBK. | |||||||
Cards on the Internet (CNP) – All cards with international brands are accepted in Kazakh online shops after the merchant has signed an acceptance contract. Kazakh banks have started to issue prepaid cards and virtual cards for internet use only.
Leading online shops in Kazakhstan have started to offer remote payments on cards based on security standards like SSL with CVC2/CVV2 code and 3D-Secure (Mastercard SecureCode, Verified by VISA). Further, web-based MOTO-like services are offered to Kazakh merchants by their acquirers.
The e-Payment Mix in Kazakhstan – In 2023, remote payment means offered by the merchants in online shops were dominated by cash-on-delivery (65%), cards (20%), cards-in outlets (5%), online wallets (8%), and others.
Remote Payments on the Mobile Internet – Since 2013, online buyers have used their smartphones for shopping on the mobile internet. Mobile online shops can be accessed by mobile internet, by mobile app, or by scanning a 2D QR-code displayed, for example, in a newspaper or at a bus station. Thus, remote mobile payments are executed by either using the e-payment page of the mobile shop or by using the payment apps of a PSP or an acquirer.
Also, Kazakh merchants can download a payment app from their acquirer to initiate MOTO payments with cards and/or online direct debits. Leading Kazakh merchants are believed to consider their apps including loyalty functions (e.g. e-vouchers, discounts, outlet finder, QR-code scanning) in the future.
Mobile Payments – Overview
As of 2023, mobile penetration in Kazakhstan was 133.1%, with around 82% of the population owning a smartphone. Tablet penetration is growing from a low level.
Mobile payments have enabled Kazakhstan payment organizations and consumers to leapfrog physical infrastructure issues and increase financial inclusion, helped by government efforts to increase the use of digital services.
From 2013, mobile services and payments began to include disruptive technologies (1D-barcodes, QR-code, Bluetooth BLE, and NFC). Mobile initiatives in Kazakhstan use new technologies, either as initiating form factors to bridge to online shops on the internet (1D-barcodes, QR-code, NFC) or to enable contactless access to the retail POS outlet (1D-barcodes, QR-code, BLE, Bluetooth Low Energy, NFC Stickers, Mobile NFC Phones) e.g.:
- To enable access to online shops for any type of mobile devices (e.g. tablets, iPhones, Androids)
- To enable mobile services and payments initiated by consumers’ tablets or smartphones at ATMs, vending machines, smart posters, and POS terminals in retail outlets
- To enable small merchants’ tablets and smartphones by adding MPOS terminal devices for payment services.
The Kazakh m-payment Mix – There are no official m-payment mix statistics, but bank information indicates that the domestic m-payment mix is similar to the e-payment mix (see Remote Payments on the Internet section).
Mobile Payment Initiatives
In 2024, the various European mobile payment initiatives can be grouped into
- Non-bank players like FinTechs, payment initiation service providers (PISPs), and account information service providers (AISPs) launch digital payment services beyond cards
- Innovative banks that launch mobile banking apps allowing for card-less in-app payments and payments on the internet
- Leading banks that pilot mobile HCE NFC payments with the card credentials stored on file in the cloud (HCE)
- Banks partnering with mobile network operators to offer mobile SIM SE NFC payments on cards with the card credentials stored in a secure element on the SIM card of the mobile device
- Innovative retailers that offer their apps with loyalty and payment functions to their consumers
Mobile HCE NFC Payments – In February 2016, Kazkommertsbank launched its mobile HCE NFC payment service, enabling customers to make contactless mobile payments with their VISA cards.
In February 2020, Halyk Bank implemented contactless payment using any Android smartphone with NFC, while Sberbank launched contactless payments using Apple Pay, announcing that over 80% of its acquiring network was equipped with contactless POS terminals. More recently, Kaspi Bank and Halyk Bank have implemented QR code payments to increase mobile payment usage in a range of sectors.
Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay are now widely available in Kazakhstan through the major second-tier banks.
QR-based Mobile Payments – In February 2017, VISA announced that its QR-based mobile payment, mVisa would be available in Kazakhstan. Mastercard’s MasterPass QR service is also available in the country. 2D QR codes are enabled for POS and internet use via banks such as Halyk and Kaspi.
In 2018, Mastercard and Halyk Bank implemented contactless payment with smartphones on the Mastercard Digital Enablement Service (MDES) platform. This allowed residents of several cities in Kazakhstan to pay for public transportation via contactless QR code via a joint venture between Halyk Bank and local governments. In June 2020, Sberbank and UnionPay announced the first payment using a QR code. UnionPay and Sberbank are planning a wide deployment of the UnionPay QR payment network among the bank’s merchants in Kazakhstan.
In November 2020, Halyk Bank announced that public services could be paid for using QR codes in its Homebank app. The project involving QR code and mobile QR code payments based on mVisa technology was implemented jointly by the government entities and Halyk Bank.
In May 2021, the government of Kazakhstan launched the Ashyq app to limit the spread of Covid-19, by restricting access to public places like bars and airports. Users must scan a QR code with the app before being allowed to enter a public place.
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CDBC) – The Digital Cash Challenge
Central bank digital currency (CBDC), also called digital fiat currency or digital base money, is a digital currency issued by a national central bank (NCB), rather than by a commercial bank. It is also a liability of the NCB and denominated in the sovereign currency, as is the case with physical banknotes and coins.
All CBDCs are under the authority of the respective national central bank, and they are part of the domestic cash payment ecosystem. Rather than a new currency, CBDC is a form of central bank electronic money that could be used by households and businesses to make payments. In addition, most CBDC implementations will likely not use or need any sort of distributed ledger such as a blockchain.
Unlike “retail CBDC,” which is generally designed as a central bank liability universally accessible to individuals and businesses within a jurisdiction’s financial system, “wholesale CBDC” refers to a digitized central bank liability designed for sizable (generally interbank) transactions, and for which access is limited to certain financial institutions.
National Central Banks (NCBs) have been providing trusted money to the public for hundreds of years as part of their public policy objectives. Trusted money is a public good. It offers a common unit of account, store of value, and medium of exchange for the sale of goods and services and settlement of financial transactions. Providing cash for public use is an important tool for central banks. Yet the world is changing.
Even before COVID-19, cash used for payments was declining fast, and convenient digital payments have grown enormously in volume and diversity. To evolve and pursue their public policy objectives in a digital world, central banks are actively researching the pros and cons of offering a digital currency to the public, a “general purpose” CBDC.
Central banks’ interest in CBDC has increased as a potential means of delivering their public policy objectives. Profound, ongoing changes across finance, technology, and society, as well as the recent COVID-19 crisis, provided additional impetus for the research of, and experimentation related to, CBDCs.
CBDC is a national digital currency issued by the central bank that is expected to replace or coexist with fiat money and hold the same value. Mobile money, on the other hand, utilises existing commercial banking-based accounting to manage customer wallet balances based on an exchange with cash or lines of credit and loans.
CBDC is a direct liability on the central bank as it is the main issuer of the currency, whereas digital money is the liability of commercial banks and other authorized financial institutions using funds on the account. Although some implementation approaches propose that CBDC can be implemented in either an indirect or hybrid form, its liability remains on the respective national central bank.
CDBC and Kazakhstan
In May 2021, the NBK announced the launch of a pilot national digital currency as a prospective form of money. The digital KZT would be a legal means of payment, a value measure, and a means of saving. To implement the platform, a two-tier architecture is planned, in which financial market participants would provide payment services, and the NBK would provide infrastructure. The NBK is undertaking a study of the advantages and risks with the definition of the tasks solved by the digital currency, the way of its issuance and distribution, the technology used, the impact on monetary policy, financial stability, and the payment ecosystem.
The “Digital KZT” pilot project was implemented, while the main goals for 2021 included testing the viability of the digital KZT concept through experimental confirmation of the technological feasibility of a retail platform based on distributed ledger technology, as well as determining the main parameters of a CBDC model for Kazakhstan in collaboration with all stakeholders. In May 2021, the NBK published a “Digital KZT” research report for public discussion. In December 2021 a report on the results of the pilot project was published. During the year, specialised meetings and discussions were held with market participants, government authorities, and international partners. The NBK recently completed a successful pilot project and announced its plan to launch the Digital Tenge, the country’s CBDC, in three stages by 2025, starting with the first stage in Q4 2023.
By February 2023, the NBK announced that while its CBDC, Digital Tenge, is in its pilot phase, the bank is testing a CBDC integration with Binance’s BNB public decentralised chain. This is to further bridge the gap between traditional banking and the crypto ecosystem.
The NBK recently completed the pilot project and announced its plan to launch the Digital Tenge, the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), in three stages by 2025, starting with the first stage in the fall of 2023. The use of the Digital Tenge with real consumers began in the fall of 2023, starting with social benefits and pensions credited to individuals’ digital wallets and part of public procurement paid in digital currency. By the end of 2023, the first phase of the Digital Tenge project was put into commercial operation. By 2025, full industrial implementation, integration of all market participants, and cross-border connectivity are anticipated.
Unregulated Cryptocurrency Products – Background
Regulators and national central banks are challenged by unregulated independent cryptocurrency products. Whereas CBDCs are under the authority of the central bank, almost all cryptocurrencies are decentralized, and not controlled or managed by any central authority.
Financial market authorities and the national central banks are not in favour of unregulated cryptocurrency products, and they see them as a systematic risk to the financial system. Their intention to regulate the respective cryptocurrency exchange platforms has gained momentum.
Cryptocurrencies, originally designed as a store of value, are digital assets, developed and maintained on decentralised blockchains, and they can be used as a medium of exchange or payment method. Bitcoin and Ethereum are the most popular forms of cryptocurrencies worldwide used by consumers and businesses for transactions.
As of 2023, over 400 million people worldwide used cryptocurrencies, with merchants and businesses in more sectors accepting it as a form of payment. The major payment schemes VISA and Mastercard, PayPal, and along with a growing number of financial institutions, have launched services allowing consumers to purchase or use cryptocurrencies for a range of applications.
According to a 2022 Deloitte survey, around two-thirds (64%) of surveyed merchants indicated that their customers have a significant interest in using digital currencies for payments, and 83% expect consumer interest in digital currencies for payments to increase or significantly increase over the next 12 months.
In addition, merchants are motivated by the prospect of enabling immediate access to funds (40% of respondents), taking advantage of blockchain-based innovations in decentralised digital finance (39%), and allowing in-house management of the revenue cycle/treasury/finance department (39%).
Over half (54%) of large retailers (with revenues of $500 million and up) have invested more than $1 million on enabling digital currency payments, while only 6% of small retailers (with revenues of under $10 million) did so.
A 2022 survey from Checkout.com found a sharp rise in people wanting to use cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, with 40% of 18-35-year-old consumers citing their desire to experiment with using crypto as a payment method, up from less than 30% in 2021. Meanwhile, over 80% of businesses say offering crypto has attracted new customers, leading to a decrease in chargebacks, while just over 60% have seen higher authorisation rates accepting crypto payments.
Current estimates put cryptocurrency ownership in Europe at around 18 million people.
Market Size and Dynamics
Cards in Issue
With a total population of 19.9 million, cards issued in Kazakhstan reached a per capita penetration of 3.75 at end-2023, and 1.94 based on active cards as reported by the NBK.
Nearly all cards issued are internationally branded and 50.35% carry VISA brands. According to NBK, 14.35% were Mastercard-branded. In 2023, debit cards accounted for approximately 87.6% of total card numbers. In addition, American Express, Diners Club and UnionPay cards are available. In February 2019, UnionPay claimed to have issued 1.8 million cards in Kazakhstan, a figure which implies a market share of around 8%.
In 2023, local card programmes accounted for 33.37% of cards issued. Halyk issues local Altyn Card cards, while Citibank Kazakhstan also issues its local cards.
Based on NBK figures, at the end of 2023, 38.7 million active payment cards were circulating in the country (growth of 15.7% from 2022), of which 33.9 million were debit cards, 4.5 million were credit cards, 287,700 were debit cards with a credit limit and prepaid cards. In Kazakhstan, 18 banks and KazPost issued payment cards; 66.6% cards in circulation were the cards of international payment systems: Visa International, Mastercard, American Express and UnionPay.
| 9 - Cards Issued in Kazakhstan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (000s) | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | GR 22/23 | CAGR 5Y |
| Number of cardholders | 29,793 | 39,208 | 49,317 | 53,250 | 72,679 | 36.49% | 30.80% |
| Cards Issued | |||||||
| Domestic cards issued | 5,020 | 14,057 | 19,649 | 22,166 | 24,874 | 12.22% | 273.98% |
| International cards issued | 27,029 | 33,908 | 39,609 | 42,914 | 49,670 | 15.74% | 16.29% |
| - VISA | 16,104 | 22,349 | 28,905 | 33,315 | 37,533 | 12.66% | 20.43% |
| - MasterCard | 9,616 | 9,936 | 9,025 | 7,980 | 10,696 | 34.04% | 8.89% |
| - other cards | 1,309 | 1,623 | 1,679 | 1,619 | 1,441 | -10.99% | -1.51% |
| Total cards issued | 32,048 | 47,966 | 59,258 | 65,080 | 74,544 | 14.54% | 26.09% |
| Cards per capita - Kazakhstan | 1.72 | 2.54 | 3.10 | 3.31 | 3.75 | 13.01% | 24.12% |
| Payment cards per capita - EA10 total | 1.50 | 1.65 | 1.82 | 2.09 | 2.42 | 15.79% | 11.57% |
| Active Cards | |||||||
| Active domestic cards | 4,190 | 9,635 | 12,192 | 13,438 | 15,948 | 18.68% | 266.86% |
| Active international cards | 13,987 | 17,144 | 18,221 | 19,993 | 22,737 | 13.72% | 14.84% |
| - active VISA cards | 6,889 | 10,102 | 12,684 | 16,698 | 19,373 | 16.02% | 23.50% |
| - active MasterCard cards | 6,398 | 6,301 | 4,810 | 2,711 | 2,885 | 6.42% | -5.28% |
| - other cards | 700 | 741 | 727 | 584 | 479 | -17.98% | -10.92% |
| Total of active cards | 18,176 | 26,779 | 30,413 | 33,431 | 38,685 | 15.72% | 27.67% |
| Active cards in % | 56.7% | 55.8% | 51.3% | 51.4% | 51.9% | 1.02% | 1.25% |
| Active cards per capita | 0.98 | 1.42 | 1.59 | 1.70 | 1.94 | 14.17% | 25.68% |
| Note: other cards include UnionPay cards and American Express cards. Domestic cards include AltynCard cards. | |||||||
| Source: National Bank of Kazakhstan. | |||||||
Payroll scheme cards form a large part of the card base. The enlarged Halyk Bank, with the largest retail market presence, focuses strongly on payroll banking and claims leadership in this field, with 2.9 million active payroll cards in public and private sector employers, as at end-2023. The enlarged Halyk Bank reported 33,200 payroll clients at end-2022, down from more than 41,000 in 2018.
Card Fraud
Card fraud is one of the most fascinating aspects of the payments industry, not least because it is relentless and mutating. EMV implementation and 3D-Secure, combined with Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), have done much to reduce domestic losses from lost and stolen cards in Europe. However, the war against fraud losses and the changing face of fraud continues to be a threat to the payments industry, including Kazakhstan.
The global card fraud challenges are Card-Not-Present fraud (CNP), cross-border fraud and counterfeiting on non-EMV cards. CNP fraud accounted for 80% of the total value of card fraud losses in 2020. From 2017, a new payment fraud category is fraud losses on contactless card payments. International card fraud continues to be smaller in scale than domestic card abuse but is proportionately far more common. And of course, fraudulent cross-border transactions on cards continue to grow on all purchase channels.
Losses from card fraud on the internet and cross-border fraud on domestic cards have grown significantly. Following EMV implementation, card fraud has moved increasingly to countries where POS terminals or online shops have not yet been migrated to EMV and SCA, respectively, and to cross-border fraud with compromised cards.
The breakdown of card fraud losses by method of compromise already indicates the importance of distinguishing between domestic and cross-border fraud losses. The method of compromise covers the means by which fraudsters obtain payment cards or card details. Notable methods of compromise in a complex payment world are CNP fraud based on theft of card credentials and card lost and stolen fraud followed by growing ID fraud and by cross-counterfeit fraud.
The main method of compromise responsible for losses in many European countries is now the theft of card credentials. A high proportion of these card fraud losses are caused by the growth in e-commerce, and still the lack of use of Strong Customer Authentication methods such as 3D-Secure.
In a post data-breach world, identity information, payment credentials, account credentials and responses to security questions are widely available for purchase in bulk. Complete fraud exploits and zero-day attacks are also easily available on the black market for outright purchase or as a hosted / fully managed service.
In the digital payments world and having the changing face of fraud in mind, there are significant challenges for card issuing banks, payment service providers and their supporting processors.
According to the NBK, in 2021, the card fraud loss rate in Kazakhstan was not significant – though interestingly, the country has had a significant problem with counterfeit coins and notes, a factor that may be partly behind the very rapid growth in cashless payments.
As most POS card transactions are authorised online-to-issuer, acquirer fraud rates in Kazakhstan are under control except for offline vending machines, e-commerce and other hotspots.
Credit card fraud prevention measures taken have been pushing 3D-Secure, updating bank fraud prevention systems and real-time-scoring, implementing more rule-based fraud control mechanisms. Also, issuers offer PIN selection at ATMs and SMS notification to inform cardholders about the use of their credit card.
Card Use
Card use in Kazakhstan follows the normal emerging market pattern in respect of the split between ATM withdrawals and POS transactions, the latter including bank ‘paying-in’ terminals.
In 2023, of the total transactions on cards were 97.9% payments and 2.1% were ATM withdrawals, driven largely by the COVID-19 pandemic slashing the usage of cash payments. POS payments as a proportion of total card transactions have progressed steadily from 16.5% in 2008.
Based on the total active cards of 38.7 million at end-2023, the level of use was 298.80 transactions per active card per year, up from 29.6 in 2012 and up by 17.37% from 2022.
According to NBK, in 2023, there were 241.1 million withdrawals on cards (-5.19% Vs 2022) with a total withdrawals value of KZT 23,052.3 billion (+7.94% in 2022). Withdrawals on cards accounted for 2.1% of the total transactions by number and for 14% of the total transaction value. The ATV per cash withdrawal accounted for KZT 95,612 (+13.85% Vs 2022) or $209.61 as calculated in USD.
| 10 - ATM Transactions in Kazakhstan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | GR 22/23 | CAGR 5Y | |
| ATM withdrawals (m) | 375.8 | 297.4 | 271.1 | 254.3 | 241.1 | -5.19% | -3.38% |
| - local systems | 6.0 | 9.8 | 21.0 | 38.4 | 58.8 | 53.19% | 177.74% |
| - international systems | 369.8 | 287.5 | 250.2 | 215.9 | 182.3 | -15.57% | -8.62% |
| - VISA | 147.7 | 135.0 | 158.0 | 166.1 | 152.6 | -8.15% | 0.36% |
| - MasterCard | 207.1 | 140.1 | 81.1 | 41.0 | 23.1 | -43.70% | -28.18% |
| - other cards | 15.0 | 12.5 | 11.1 | 8.8 | 6.6 | -24.81% | -15.58% |
| Withdrawals in % of total transactions | 23.9% | 9.4% | 4.1% | 3.0% | 2.1% | -30.19% | -43.22% |
| Cash withdrawals per capita | 20.2 | 15.8 | 14.2 | 13.0 | 12.1 | -6.46% | -4.89% |
| Value of withdrawals (KZTbn) | 16,324.6 | 16,620.5 | 20,590.0 | 21,356.5 | 23,052.3 | 7.94% | 11.15% |
| - local systems | 286.3 | 392.5 | 1,298.0 | 2,672.1 | 4,663.7 | 74.53% | 205.52% |
| - international systems | 16,038.2 | 16,228.0 | 19,291.9 | 18,684.4 | 18,388.7 | -1.58% | 6.27% |
| - VISA | 8,036.1 | 8,713.0 | 12,567.2 | 14,146.6 | 14,944.9 | 5.64% | 12.46% |
| - MasterCard | 7,320.6 | 6,871.0 | 6,074.3 | 3,986.5 | 2,953.3 | -25.92% | -8.67% |
| - other cards | 681.6 | 644.0 | 650.4 | 551.3 | 490.5 | -11.03% | -4.39% |
| % of total card transactions | 53.7% | 32.0% | 22.0% | 17.1% | 14.0% | -18.13% | -27.13% |
| ATV per cash withdrawals (KZT) | 43,438.7 | 55,887.8 | 75,936.2 | 83,982.6 | 95,612.0 | 13.85% | 15.05% |
| Note: other cards include UnionPay cards and American Express cards; domestic cards include AltynCard cards. | |||||||
| Source: National Bank of Kazakhstan. | |||||||
Card Payments – According to NBK, in 2023, there were 11,317.9 million payments on cards (+37.1% from 2022) with a total payments value of KZT 141,940.2 billion (+36.8% Vs 2022). Card payments accounted for 97.9% of the total transactions by number and 86% of the total transaction value. The ATV per card payment accounted for KZT 12,541.25 (-0.23% from 2022) or $27.49 as calculated in USD.
| 11 - Card Payments in Kazakhstan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | GR 22/23 | CAGR 5Y | |
| Number of payments (000s) | 1,195,417 | 2,878,476 | 6,271,337 | 8,256,634 | 11,317,866 | 37.08% | 84.89% |
| - local systems | 345,351 | 1,979,330 | 5,124,993 | 7,290,148 | 9,655,053 | 32.44% | 1118.12% |
| - international systems | 850,066 | 899,146 | 1,146,344 | 1,296,616 | 1,662,813 | 28.24% | 25.99% |
| - VISA | 225,806 | 340,277 | 716,075 | 966,486 | 1,424,882 | 47.43% | 43.99% |
| - MasterCard | 618,860 | 553,573 | 413,445 | 211,887 | 175,886 | -16.99% | -9.22% |
| - other cards | 5,400 | 5,296 | 16,824 | 118,243 | 62,045 | -47.53% | 49.58% |
| Payments in % of total transactions | 76.1% | 90.6% | 95.9% | 97.0% | 97.9% | 0.93% | 8.65% |
| Card payments per capita | 64.2 | 152.5 | 328.0 | 420.5 | 568.7 | 35.24% | 82.00% |
| Value of payments (KZTbn) | 14,050.8 | 35,294.8 | 73,123.3 | 103,787.6 | 141,940.2 | 36.76% | 85.93% |
| - local systems | 4,916.8 | 25,635.4 | 58,304.6 | 80,253.1 | 111,865.1 | 39.39% | 393.36% |
| - international systems | 9,134.0 | 9,659.4 | 14,818.7 | 23,534.5 | 30,075.1 | 27.79% | 36.49% |
| - VISA | 3,681.5 | 5,179.8 | 10,189.8 | 14,199.5 | 22,571.6 | 58.96% | 46.31% |
| - MasterCard | 5,354.7 | 4,410.7 | 4,487.8 | 4,254.2 | 5,212.0 | 22.51% | 13.25% |
| - other cards | 97.8 | 68.9 | 141.1 | 5080.8 | 2291.5 | -54.90% | 65.53% |
| Value in % of total transactions value | 46.3% | 68.0% | 78.0% | 82.9% | 86.0% | 3.73% | 21.89% |
| ATV per card payment (KZT) | 11,753.90 | 12,261.63 | 11,659.92 | 12,570.21 | 12,541.25 | -0.23% | 0.57% |
| Note: other cards include UnionPay cards and American Expres cards. Domestic cards include AltynCard cards. | |||||||
| Source: National Bank of Kazakhstan. | |||||||
Card Use per Capita
In 2023, there were 12.1 withdrawals on cards per capita and 568.7 payments on cards per capita.
Debit Card Use
In 2023, the NBK reported 33.9 million active debit cards in circulation.
Credit Card Use
In 2023, the NBK reported 4.5 million active credit cards in circulation.
E-Money Use
At end-2023, e-money transactions in Kazakhstan were made through 34 Kazakhstani e-money systems. Payment organisations acted as operators of 30 e-money systems out of 34 e-money systems in Kazakhstan, and three e-money were operated by second-tier banks and KazPost.
As of 2023, e-money transactions totalling KZT 596 billion were conducted via the services of payment organisations, accounting for 74% of the overall turnover of functioning systems of e-money.
| 12 - E-money Use in Kazakhstan | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | GR 22/23 | |
| E-Money Institutions (EMIs) | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 30 | 25.00% |
| - of which banks | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 0.00% |
| E-money issued (KZT bn) | 572.8 | 323.9 | 263.0 | 514.0 | 596.0 | 15.95% |
| Total e-money purchases (m) | 174.9 | 149.9 | 112.0 | 234.0 | 234.0 | 0.00% |
| - of which by individuals (m) | 21.0 | 8.1 | 3.1 | na | na | na |
| - of which by entreprenuers and corporate entities (m) | 153.9 | 141.8 | 108.9 | na | na | na |
| Total e-money purchases value (KZT bn) | 580.2 | 323.9 | 263.0 | 514.0 | 596.0 | 15.95% |
| - of which by individuals (KZT bn) | 426.1 | 43.1 | 22.0 | na | na | na |
| - of which by entreprenuers and corporate entities (KZT bn) | 154.1 | 280.8 | 241.0 | na | na | na |
| ATV per e-money purchase (KZT) | 3,317.32 | 2,160.77 | 2,348.21 | 2,196.58 | 2,547.01 | 15.95% |
| Source: National Bank of Kazakhstan. | ||||||
Leading Card Issuers
Halyk Bank, as the original savings institution and provider of deposit facilities to the mass of the population, has Kazakhstan’s biggest retail customer base. The enlarged Halyk Bank reported 7 million active cards at end-2023, up by 9.38% from 2023, giving it a market share of 20%.
Halyk Bank customers can open digital card accounts online. In 2021, around 60,000 payment cards were delivered to customers, comprising 90% of cards issued instantly.
The total number of payment cards in the bank’s portfolio exceeded 20 million in 2023. In May 2021, Halyk Bank began to accept banking cards issued by Russia’s Mir national payment system, and the bank’s POS terminals and ATMs are now compatible with cards from the Russian payment system and the Visa and Mastercard payment systems, as well as cards from American Express and China’s UnionPay.
The Halyk Club loyalty programme is an exclusive club for all the bank’s cardholders that features 17,000 partners. In 2021, customers received more than 17 billion total bonus points from the Bank and merchants. They spent more than 14 billion of these bonus points through the Halyk terminal network and the Halyk Homebank app.
Halyk Bank has a comprehensive card portfolio. On the VISA side, there is Electron, Electron Instant, Classic, Gold, Platinum, Infinite (exclusive services, annual fee of KZT 60,000 in the first year, falling to KZT 42,000) and Virtuon (internet-only). HalykBank also offers Mastercard Standard and Gold, Maestro, local Altyn scheme cards and Chinese Union Pay cards, including a gold card and a full range of American Express cards. In 2014, Halyk Bank issued contactless cards.
In April 2016, the bank launched an e-money service on its payment terminals, and in June 2016, it launched the Halyk eWallet application, which provides access to funds stored electronically and allows issuing e-money.
In January 2021, the bank launched a digital card for business clients, marking the first such launch by a bank in the country.
Social payments – Halyk Bank, being one of the main pension payment operators in Kazakhstan since 1996, services more than 2.5 million pensioners and benefit recipients. The bank’s share by volume of all payments in Kazakhstan is around 70%. As at end-2023, Halyk had 33,200 payroll projects in total, key strategic service used to pay salaries on its cards to 2.9 million people, or 42% of the country’s working population.
| 13 - Halyk Bank Key Figures | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | GR 22/23 | CAGR 5Y | |
| Payment cardholders (000s) | 7,951 | 7,600 | 5,800 | 6,400 | 7,000 | 9.38% | -3.57% |
| Plastic cards of payroll programme (000s) | na | 5,450 | 2,500 | 2,700 | 2,900 | na | na |
| Payroll project clients | 31,959 | 33,000 | 33,231 | 33,174 | 33,009 | -0.50% | -4.24% |
| Internet banking clients | 4,241,294 | 6,186,671 | 7,998,879 | 9,415,716 | 10,458,671 | 11.08% | 23.88% |
| Mobile banking clients | 4,200,000 | 4,300,000 | 4,200,000 | 5,100,000 | 7,900,000 | 54.90% | 20.61% |
| Branches and outlets | 626 | 611 | 589 | 572 | 570 | -0.35% | -2.50% |
| ATMs | 4,459 | 4,596 | 4,526 | 4,580 | 4,579 | -0.02% | 0.76% |
| POS terminals | 88,463 | 101,509 | 148,351 | 275,812 | 330,847 | 19.95% | 37.61% |
| Multi-kiosks | 32 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | na | -100.00% |
| Note: 2017 figures are for Halyk Bank and Kazkommertsbank following their merger at end-2017/H2-2018. | |||||||
| Note: payroll projects are with government and private entities; multi-kiosks are information and transaction terminals. | |||||||
| Source: Halyk Savings Bank. | |||||||
| NOTE: Branches and outlets = branches, sub regional offices and cash settlement units | |||||||
Halyk Remote Channels – In 2016, the retail Internet banking system of Halyk Bank was updated with additional functionality, including functions to authenticate users and confirm transactions. A token is used to generate a one-time password for transactions requiring heightened security, such as transfers exceeding the Bank’s limits.
The number of Halyk Bank internet banking clients grew by 11.08% to 10.4 million customers at end-2023. Another important area is GovTech. Halyk Bank’s customers can apply for benefits and immediately open a special card account, register as an individual entrepreneur, transfer vehicle ownership, open a pension fund account and receive payments. They can also check the results of COVID-19 tests; customers have already used this service more than 18 million times.
Kazkommertsbank (Kazkom) supplied little information on its payment card activities, but they were clearly profitable. Its 2013 annual report showed KZT 22.3 billion ($147 million) of net fee and commission income, of which the contribution of card services was 33.9%, up from 31.6% the previous year; according to Kazkom, this meant that the income from card services was up by KZT 2 billion ($13 million). Because of the merger with BTA, Kazkommertsbank gave no subsequent update.
Kazkom launched the first Mastercard PayPass cards in Kazakhstan in 2010 and became the first to issue American Express Blue credit cards in Eurasia. In September 2016, Kazkommertsbank and Diners Club launched a franchise in Kazakhstan. Kazkommertsbank became the exclusive acquirer of Diners Club cards in Kazakhstan, as well as all of the cards issued by Discover Global Network, including the Discover Network card, Diners Club, and PULSE. The bank was also the exclusive issuer of Diners Club in Kazakhstan and started issuing cards in 2016.
In 2017, Kazkombank was absorbed by Halyk Bank.
Jysan Bank (formerly Tsesnabank) issues contactless debit cards branded Debit Mastercard or Electron, contactless credit cards branded Mastercard or VISA, prepaid cards, and virtual VISA cards. Premium products include the Mastercard World Elite card. It has also made available Samsung Pay and Apple Pay to customers. In 2018, following its acquisition of Tsesnabank, the newly enlarged Jysan had 3,698 POS terminals, and more than 250,000 cards in circulation.
Bank CenterCredit (BCC) sees growth in the cards business as a strategic priority and has scope for greater penetration of its customer base. As of 2021, its credit card market share was 3.5% but the bank is aiming to have a 25% market share and 5 million cards by 2025. There were 4 million active customers making payments and transfers in 2021, including over 170,000 payroll salary clients. As of H1 2023, BCC reported a 6.8% market share of total banking sector assets and a 7.1% market share of loans.
As of H1-2023, the bank had 700 ATMs and over 7,600 POS terminals. During 2018, the bank stopped issuing Electron, Maestro, Classic, and Standard cards, while issuing new Gold and Premium cards. As such, the bank’s share of active Gold and World cards increased from 45.3% to 50%. In November 2018 the bank introduced Apple Pay and Garmin Pay for Visa cardholders.
In December 2019, BCC became the first in Kazakhstan to launch #IronCard contactless metal cards for VIP clients on the market. #IronCard is based on Visa Infinite, the most prestigious card in the line of products of the international payment system.
The former investor Kookmin Bank supported BCC with IT infrastructure developments. In March 2013, BCC announced it had been certified as compliant with the PCI DSS v2.0 security standard established by VISA and Mastercard. In 2019, BCC was the first among Kazakhstani banks to launch an Open API system, which simplifies the receipt of banking services for clients of the bank’s network of partners and the creation of joint open ecosystems.
Kaspi Bank is the major player in credit cards, receiving a certificate from VISA in July 2012 to mark its issuance of 1.7 million VISA credit cards out of the Kazakhstan total of 2 million. In June 2014, Kaspi claimed to have 3 million customers for its revolving credit cards, rising to 5.6 million by 2021. It is by far the biggest issuer of credit cards in Kazakhstan and one of the biggest in Eurasia.
The Kaspi Super App is Kazakhstan’s most popular mobile app. During 2023, the Kaspi Super App MAU (Monthly Active Users) increased to 14.0 million, up from 12.6 million in 2022. Engagement levels continued to hit all-time highs, with DAU (Daily Active Users) increasing to 9.1 million (8.0 million in 2022) and the ratio of DAU to MAU reaching 65%, which the bank claimed was amongst the highest levels of user engagement of any leading Super App globally.
Kaspi Bank stated that mobile payments were fundamental to its Super App strategy, such as Kaspi QR Scan & Pay for consumers and Kaspi Pay POS Solutions for merchants. By the end of 2023, transactions per consumer reached an all-time high of 71 per month, while the Super App MAU went up 10% to 14.0 million and DAU went up 13.8% to 9.1 million.
Sberbank of Russia has issued contactless cards branded Maestro, Electron, Mastercard, VISA or UnionPay. In November 2012, it launched its own version of Kazkom’s Mastercard Platinum Diamond credit card – a diamond-encrusted VISA Infinite Exclusive card made of pure gold with pearl embossing and 26 integral diamonds. Media reports suggested the card would cost $100,000, of which $65,000 represented product costs.
ATF Bank had issued contactless cards branded Mastercard, VISA, UnionPay, Debit Mastercard, or VISA Debit, and also handles Apple Pay and Garmin Pay transactions via mobile wallets. More recently it launched a Visa Platinum contactless card.
Altyn Bank (previously HSBC Kazakhstan), owned by Halyk Bank, issues Debit Mastercard cards, VISA Debit cards, and Mastercard credit cards. All cards have an added contactless payment function.
ForteBank (previously Alliance Bank) issues contactless VISA and Mastercard cards. Its card portfolio absorbed the cards issued by Temirbank and Alliance Bank.
Alliance Bank, which regarded retail banking and the card business as a strategic business, reported 444,000 cards as at Q1 2008. Alliance was the first Kazakhstani bank to make a determined move into revolving credit cards, hiring western employees to this end. At Q1 2008, 192,000 of its cards issued were credit cards.
Alliance viewed revolving credit cards as a replacement for the personal instalment loans it had previously extended, and which accounted for 55% of its retail lending portfolio. In the course of developing the lending business, Alliance created credit scores for 75% of Kazakhstan’s bankable population and planned to direct its revolving credit card offer at 2 million potential clients with prime credit quality. Applicants had to undergo a series of checks, including a personal interview and to have positive credit history with Alliance approval. Because of Alliance’s restructuring, credit card plans were put on hold.
International Money Transfers
The number of Kazakhs working abroad has been estimated at around 4 million by the United Nations, although there may be discrepancies between temporary workers abroad and permanent emigrants. The main host country for workers from the Republic of Kazakhstan is the Russian Federation. This is facilitated by geographical proximity, the absence of a language barrier, as well as visa-free travel and free movement of labour within the EAEU.
At end-2023, eight international remittance systems were functioning within Kazakhstan: Gold Crown, Western Union, UniStream, Contact, Faster, MoneyGram, UPT, and Ria Money Transfer. At the end of 2022, there was an increase in remittances against the backdrop of banks’ work to improve non-cash payment infrastructure, implement innovative technologies, improve quality, and expand what we offer to customers financial services online, which allowed maintaining trends growth in the volume of non-cash payments and money transfers. The influence of the external sector on the Kazakh economy during 2023 was neutral. Brent oil prices have been above $80 dollars per barrel for most of the year. There was a weakening of external inflationary pressure on consumer prices in Kazakhstan against the backdrop of slowing inflation in the EU and China, as well as a decline in world food prices. At the same time, by the end of 2023, inflationary pressure from Russia increased due to the acceleration of consumer price growth in Russia from 2.3% in April to 7.4% in December 2023.
As of the end of 2023, the value of money transmitted abroad via international remittance systems was KZT 961.05 billion, which decreased by 7.1% compared to 2022. The average amount of one transfer abroad was KZT 372,200.
The largest recipients of money transfers in 2023 were Uzbekistan (27.5%), Russian Federation (25.1%), Turkey (23.1%), Georgia (9.6%) and Kyrgyzstan (3.4%). During the same period, payments from abroad to Kazakhstan were 2.4 times more compared to 2021 at KZT 681.2 billion. The average amount of one transfer due to borders also decreased by 37.5% and amounted to KZT 287,200, the leader among sending countries is Russia (35.3%).
Transfers totalling KZT 59.2 billion were made across Kazakhstan via international remittances. As compared to 2022, there was a decline of 62.5% in the volume of transfers across Kazakhstan transmitted via such systems.
Unistream – In July 2015, Unistream launched its instant money transfers in the country. The service is available for customers throughout the network of Kazpost branches in the territory of Kazakhstan.
Appendix
Bank Sector Consolidation – Background
With non-performing loans in the banking system consistently problematic, Kazakhstan struggled to recover from the credit crunch of 2008-2009. Because of excessive foreign debt levels, Kazakhstan lost access to international capital markets and government support was needed to avoid bank failures. However, between 2013 and 2018, there was substantial consolidation of the banking sector.
Kazakh banks owed $45 billion in foreign debt and Samruk-Kazyna, the Kazakh government’s ‘National Wealth Fund’ (and holding company for state-owned enterprises), made $10 billion available to support them. Samruk-Kazyna took control of BTA (Bank TuranAlem), Alliance Bank and Temirbank in 2009.
Samruk-Kazyna owned 97% of BTA, 80% of Temirbank, 67% of Alliance Bank and 18% of Kazkommertsbank (Kazkom). However, re-privatisation of the banks was always government’s aim and in March 2010, Samruk-Kazyna said it planned to sell its bank shareholdings before end-2013.
In late 2013, Samruk-Kazyna sold BTA to Kazkom and to Kenges Rakishev, a Kazakh entrepreneur, each of whom bought 46.5% for KZT 72 billion ($392 million), with Kazkom buying an additional 4.26% from the government and so securing operational control.
At the same time, Samruk-Kazyna sold its 80% Temirbank and 16% of its stake in Alliance Bank, retaining 51%, to Bulat Utemuratov, another Kazakh entrepreneur, who paid $196 million for Temirbank and $8.2 million for the Alliance Bank stake. In August 2015, the bank license of Temirbank and ABC Bank were terminated.
Compared with KZT 322 billion ($2.2 billion) invested in the rescued banks in 2009, Samruk-Kazyna expected to recover about KZT 270 billion ($1.5 billion) once its sales were completed.
By end-2015, Kazkom absorbed BTA (Bank TuranAlem), the largest of four Kazakh lenders to default in 2009, completed the biggest-ever restructuring by an emerging markets bank in 2010, reducing its $16.7 billion debt to $4.2 billion. BTA suffered erosion of market share from 2009, with its once-predominant position in corporate business evaporating and its share of retail deposits slipping to 7% by 2014. BTA retained a substantial branch network with good geographical spread, but its market share eroded. In mid-2014, it reported 646,000 private customers, down from 1.2 million at end-2012; its network of regional branches was down to 19.
BTA also retained most of the regional network it built up before the credit crunch, with consolidated subsidiaries in Russia and Belarus and associated banks in Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine. BTA sold its subsidiary BTA Bank Armenia to an Armenian investor in August 2016.
In February 2013, the Kazakhstan government said it wanted Halyk to acquire BTA and suggested that Halyk should exchange its interest in Halyk Pension Fund for BTA shares held by Samruk-Kazyna. However, Halyk said it had not made any commitment to this proposed transaction or entered into any negotiations about it.
In December 2013, BTA was sold by Samruk-Kazyna to a consortium of investors represented by Kazkommertsbank and Kenes Rakishev. In mid-2015, Kazkom owners owned 94.84% of the BTA shares. Strategy of Kazkom as new shareholder of BTA targeted at systematic integration of BTA Bank. The merger was complete by end-2015.
KazCard Background
Along with the fade-out of the national processing centre went the abandonment of ambitious plans announced for KazCard in February 2005, involving creation of a chip-enabled national payment card based on open specification EMV2000, sponsored by Kazpost with equipment from OpenWay and Axalto.
Kazpost and KazCard announced plans in 2005 to roll out up to 4,000 ATMs and 45,000 POS terminals in an acquiring network managed by the national processing centre, which would also provide clearing and interbank settlement services.
The goal was to create a pre-authorised debit card payment system extending into rural areas and including ID applications for authentication purposes. Payments through KazCard would be made with a pre-authorised account offline, where the issuing bank set the card limit for pre-authorised offline payments. If the purchase amount exceeded the pre-authorised amount available, the transaction was to go automatically online for authorisation by the issuing bank.
However, the project needed support from the banks, which it failed to find.
Data Tables
| Market Overview | |
|---|---|
| Payment Organisation | Interbank Card Processing Centre (ICPC). |
| Domestic Card Brand | Altyn Card. |
| Market Structure | Though two banks issue proprietary local debit cards, nearly all cards are internationally branded. Three banks issue UnionPay cards. VISA predominates, with a market share of 50.35%. Central bank figures show that 51.9% of cards in circulation are classed as active cards. ATM withdrawal value grew by 7.94% in 2023 in Kazakhstan; card payments rose by over 37.08% and payment value rose by over 36.76% from 2021. The five largest banks – Halyk Bank, Kaspi Bank, Bank CentreCredit, Otbasy Bank, and Forte Bank – accounted for 66.43% of banking sector assets as of December 2023. Of the top 10 banks, Kaspi Bank and Sberbank are Russian-controlled. Bank sector consolidation is gaining momentum with several mergers and acquisitions since 2017. Following UniCredit’s disposal of ATF Bank in March 2013, there is no substantial Western-owned retail bank in Kazakhstan. |
| Notable Market Trends | Contactless rollout, e-money, UnionPay cards, mobile banking apps. The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) has been exploring the feasibility of issuing a digital tenge (DT) since 2021. The NBK recently completed a successful pilot project and announced its plan to launch the Digital Tenge, the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), in three stages by 2025, starting with the first stage in the fall of 2023. |
| Major Card Issuers | Halyk Bank, Kaspi Bank, Jysan Bank, ATF Bank. |
| Major Card Acquirers | Halyk Bank, Kaspi Bank, Jysan Bank. |
| Major Card Processors | Kazakhstan Interbank Settlement Centre (KISC). |
| Key Statistics 2023 | |
|---|---|
| Population | 19.9 million, 3.75 cards per capita |
| Cards | Domestic cards: 24.87 million VISA branded cards: 37.53 million Mastercard branded cards: 10.7 million Total cards: 74.54 million |
| Card Transactions | Payments: 11,317.9 million, value: KZT 141.94 trillion ($311.18 billion) Cash withdrawals: 241.1 million; value: KZT 23.05 trillion ($50.5 billion) Total transactions: 1,279.3 million; value: KZT 164.9 trillion ($361.6 billion) |
| POS Terminals | 1,041,884 (thereof 8,114 in bank branches) |
| POS Payments | 7,290.1 million |
| ATMs | 12,649 |
| ATM Withdrawals | 241.1 million |
| 1 - Main Banks in Kazakhstan (end-2023) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank | Ownership | Assets (KZTbn) | Assets ($bn) | Market Share % | Branches |
| Halyk Bank | Almex Holding Group: 69.6%, GSRs 28.5%; Others: 1.9% | 15,494.0 | 33.97 | 30.12% | 24 |
| Kaspi Bank | Baring Vostok Fund: 27.53%; Management: 3.41%; investors: 68.06% | 6,821.9 | 14.96 | 13.26% | 19 |
| Bank CenterCredit (BCC) | B.Balseitov (Board Chairman): 48.96%, Management: 39.77% investors: 11.27% | 4,878.8 | 10.70 | 9.48% | 21 |
| Otbasy Bank | Baiterek NMH JSC i | 3,730.4 | 8.18 | 7.25% | 19 |
| ForteBank | Private investor (Bulat Utemuratov): 81.82%, free float: 18.18% | 3,253.1 | 7.13 | 6.32% | 20 |
| First Heartland Jýsan Bank | First Heartland Securities (KZ): 78.73%, Others: 21.27% | 2,709.8 | 5.94 | 5.27% | 19 |
| Eurasian Bank | Eurasian Financial Company (EFC): 100% | 2,360.0 | 5.17 | 4.59% | 19 |
| Bank Freedom Finance | Freedom Holding Corp: 100% | 2,196.8 | 4.82 | 4.27% | 12 |
| Bank RBK | KCC FINANC LLP: 89.71%, Others: 10.29% | 2,043.5 | 4.48 | 3.97% | 13 |
| Bereke Bank | Baiterek NMH JSC; 100% | 1,741.9 | 3.82 | 3.39% | 18 |
| Citibank Kazakhstan | Citigroup (US) | 1,087.0 | 2.38 | 2.11% | 1 |
| Altyn Bank | China CITIC Bank Corp. Ltd (50.1%), China Shuangwei Inv Co., Ltd. (9.9%), and Halyk Bank of Kazakhstan (40.0%). | 888.7 | 1.95 | 1.73% | 6 |
| other banks | 4,235.2 | 9.28 | 8.23% | 64 | |
| Total | 51,441.1 | 112.77 | 100.00% | 255 | |
| Note: assets are as at end-2021; branch numbers are as at 02/05/2022. | |||||
| Note: ATF Bank was merged with Jýsan Bank at the end-2021. | |||||
| Note:Bank CentreCredit acquired Alfa-Bank in May 2022. It is now trading as Eco Centre Bank. | |||||
| Note: First Heartland Jýsan Bank was created after the merger of First Heartland Bank and the failing Tsesnabank in 2019. | |||||
| Nurbank dropped in assets to 468.758bn | |||||
| On 18 August 2022, Baiterek and Sberbank Group signed a contract for the sale and purchase of a controlling stake in SB Sberbank of Russia JSC JSC with suspensive conditions. As of the date of issuance of these condensed consolidated interim financial statements, the transaction has not been completed. |
|||||
| CenterCredit has signed an agreement to buy the local arm of sanctions-hit Russia’s Alfa-Bank. Under the agreement, CenterCredit will buy a 100% stake in Alfa-Bank Kazakhstan for an undisclosed sum. | |||||
| Source: National Bank of Kazakhstan, Yearbooks research. | |||||
| 2 - Cashless Transactions in Kazakhstan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Millions) | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | GR 22/23 | CAGR 5Y |
| Card transactions at ATMs+POS | 1,571.22 | 3,174.35 | 6,542.49 | 8,826.10 | 11,558.97 | 30.96% | 212.52% |
| Payment orders (credit transfers) | 242.20 | 271.44 | 293.14 | 327.15 | 992.86 | 203.49% | 122.76% |
| Direct debiting of a banking account | 46.59 | 29.93 | 49.19 | 213.59 | 107.65 | -49.60% | na |
| Payment request orders (debit transfers) | 1.60 | 1.11 | 1.60 | 2.95 | 4.70 | 59.44% | 108.22% |
| Collection orders (debit transfers) | 0.96 | 1.48 | 2.07 | 3.33 | 4.29 | 28.93% | 48.78% |
| Paid bill of exchange | 36.44 | 32.51 | 26.79 | 27.78 | 21.94 | -21.01% | na |
| Other payment instruments | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.03 | 2600.00% | 55.18% |
| Total | 1,899.01 | 3,510.82 | 6,915.28 | 9,400.89 | 12,690.43 | 34.99% | 70.88% |
| Card transactions at ATMs+POS per capita | 84.3 | 168.1 | 342.1 | 449.5 | 580.8 | 29.21% | 207.64% |
| Payment orders (credit transfers) per capita | 13.0 | 14.4 | 15.3 | 16.7 | 49.9 | 199.43% | 119.28% |
| Direct debiting of a banking account per capita | 2.5 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 10.9 | 5.4 | -50.27% | na |
| Payment request orders (debit transfers) per capita | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 57.30% | 104.97% |
| Collection orders (debit transfers) per capita | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 27.21% | 46.46% |
| Paid bill of exchange per capita | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.1 | -22.07% | na |
| Other payment instruments per capita | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2563.90% | 52.76% |
| Total cashless payments per capita | 101.9 | 186.0 | 361.6 | 478.8 | 637.7 | 33.19% | 68.21% |
| Note: due to new reporting methods from the NBK, figures for 2018 and 2019 are not fully comparable to those of previous years. | |||||||
| Note: up to and including 2017, card transactions inclue ATM withdrawals; other payment instruments include cheques, direct debits and executed bill credits. | |||||||
| Note: from 2018 card transactions no longer include ATM withdrawals and other payment instruments include only cheques. | |||||||
| Source: National Bank of Kazakhstan. | |||||||
| 3 - Average Exchange Rates | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| 1 EUR in KZT | 428.51 | 471.44 | 503.99 | 484.83 | 493.01 |
| 1 USD in KZT | 382.75 | 412.95 | 425.89 | 460.23 | 456.14 |
| Source: National Bank of Kazakhstan. | |||||
| 4 - Leading Card Issuers in Kazakhstan | ||
|---|---|---|
| Domestic Issuers | Issued Card Brands | Owned by |
| Halyk Bank | Mastercard, VISA, UnionPay; Electron, AmExp | Almex Holding Group: 69.6%, GSRs 28.5%; Others: 1.9% |
| Kazkommertsbank | Mastercard, VISA, AmExp, Diners; Debit MasterCard, VISA Debit | 2017: Halyk Bank: 74.72%, Holding Group Almex: 25.05%, others: 0.23% |
| Kaspi Bank | Mastercard, VISA; Electron | Baring Vostok Fund: 27.53%; Management: 3.41%; investors: 68.06% |
| Bank CenterCredit (BCC) | Mastercard, VISA; Maestro, Electron | B.Balseitov (Board Chairman): 48.96%, Management: 39.77% investors: 11.27% |
| Sberbank of Russia KZ | Mastercard, VISA, UnionPay; Maestro, Electron | Sberbank Group (RUS) |
| First Heartland Jýsan Bank | Mastercard, VISA; Debit Mastercard, Electron | First Heartland Securities (KZ): 78.73%, Others: 21.27% |
| Bank RBK | Debit MastercardVISA, Electron | KCC FINANC LLP: 89.71%, Others: 10.29% |
| Eurasian Bank | Debit Mastercard | Eurasian Financial Company (EFC): 100% |
| Altyn Bank | Mastercard, Debit Mastercard, VISA Debit | China CITIC Bank Corp. Ltd (50.1%), China Shuangwei Inv Co., Ltd. (9.9%), and Halyk Bank of Kazakhstan (40.0%). |
| ForteBank | Mastercard, VISA; Debit MasterCard, VISA Debit | Private investor (Bulat Utemuratov): 81.82%, free float: 18.18% |
| Nurbank | Mastercard, VISA; Maestro, Electron | JP Finance Group (KZ): 82.67% |
| other banks | Mastercard, VISA; Maestro, Electron | other bank owners |
| Source: PCM research. | ||
| 5 - Leading Acquirers in Kazakhstan | ||
|---|---|---|
| Domestic Acquirers | Acceptance Brands offered | Owned by |
| Halyk Bank | Mastercard, VISA, UnionPay; Maestro, Electron; Altyn; AmExp; JCB | Almex Holding Group: 69.6%, GSRs 28.5%; Others: 1.9% |
| Kazkommertsbank | Mastercard, VISA, AmExp, JCB, Diners, Discover; Maestro, Electron | 2017: Halyk Bank: 74.72%, Holding Group Almex: 25.05%, others: 0.23% |
| Kaspi Bank | Mastercard, VISA; Electron | Baring Vostok Fund: 27.53%; Management: 3.41%; investors: 68.06% |
| Bank CenterCredit (BCC) | Mastercard, VISA; Electron | B.Balseitov (Board Chairman): 48.96%, Management: 39.77% investors: 11.27% |
| First Heartland Jýsan Bank | Mastercard, VISA; Electron | First Heartland Securities (KZ): 78.73%, Others: 21.27% |
| other acquirer banks | Mastercard, VISA; Maestro, Electron | other bank owners |
| Source: PCM research | ||
| 6 - ATMs in Kazakhstan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | GR 22/23 | CAGR 5Y | |
| ATMs | 11,315 | 12,728 | 12,443 | 12,391 | 12,649 | 2.08% | 2.80% |
| # ATM Terminals per 1m capita - Kazakhstan | 607.3 | 674.2 | 650.7 | 631.1 | 635.6 | 0.72% | 1.20% |
| # ATM Terminals per 1m capita - EA10 total | 728.9 | 713.6 | 698.7 | 679.4 | 706.3 | 3.96% | -0.17% |
| Source: National Bank of Kazakhstan. | |||||||
| 7 - POS Terminals in Kazakhstan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | GR 22/23 | CAGR 5Y | |
| Number of merchants | 96,428 | 108,159 | 273,947 | 567,687 | 793,065 | 39.70% | 57.23% |
| POS terminals | 170,410 | 211,764 | 509,194 | 831,780 | 1,041,884 | 25.26% | 50.31% |
| - at banks | 8,720 | 8,785 | 8,510 | 16,279 | 8,114 | -50.16% | -1.65% |
| - at merchants | 161,690 | 202,979 | 500,684 | 815,501 | 1,033,770 | 26.77% | 52.10% |
| # POS Terminals per 1m capita - Kazakhstan | 9,146.2 | 11,216.6 | 26,628.1 | 42,364.1 | 52,355.5 | 23.58% | 47.96% |
| # POS Terminals per 1m capita - EA10 total | 15,041.9 | 17,950.0 | 19,042.0 | 21,172.0 | 23,259.9 | 9.86% | 12.48% |
| Source: National Bank of Kazakhstan. | |||||||
| 8 - Internet Use in Kazakhstan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | GR 22/23 | CAGR 5Y | |
| Number of mobile phone subscribers (000s) | 25,820.3 | 24,293.9 | 24,423.1 | 25,181.4 | 25,181.4 | 0.00% | -0.77% |
| Mobile phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants | 138.6% | 134.1% | 127.5% | 130.4% | 130.4% | 0.00% | -1.73% |
| Number of internet users (000s) | 15,255.7 | 16,225.1 | 16,445.3 | 17,476.4 | 17,476.4 | 0.00% | 3.78% |
| Internet users per 100 inhabitants (aged 16-74) | 81.9% | 85.9% | 85.9% | 90.9% | 90.9% | 0.00% | 2.87% |
| Dynamics of Online Payments | |||||||
| Number of Internet/mobile payments (m) | 460.2 | 430.1 | 533.5 | 598.3 | 956.7 | 59.90% | 38.14% |
| Value of Internet/mobile payments (KZT bn) | 1,993.0 | 2,287.0 | 3,432.0 | 5,949.0 | 8,034.0 | 35.05% | 39.79% |
| ATV per online payment (KZT) | 4.33 | 5.32 | 6.43 | 9.94 | 8.40 | -15.54% | 1.20% |
| Source: Agency of Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan (KazStat), ITU, NBK. | |||||||
| 9 - Cards Issued in Kazakhstan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (000s) | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | GR 22/23 | CAGR 5Y |
| Number of cardholders | 29,793 | 39,208 | 49,317 | 53,250 | 72,679 | 36.49% | 30.80% |
| Cards Issued | |||||||
| Domestic cards issued | 5,020 | 14,057 | 19,649 | 22,166 | 24,874 | 12.22% | 273.98% |
| International cards issued | 27,029 | 33,908 | 39,609 | 42,914 | 49,670 | 15.74% | 16.29% |
| - VISA | 16,104 | 22,349 | 28,905 | 33,315 | 37,533 | 12.66% | 20.43% |
| - MasterCard | 9,616 | 9,936 | 9,025 | 7,980 | 10,696 | 34.04% | 8.89% |
| - other cards | 1,309 | 1,623 | 1,679 | 1,619 | 1,441 | -10.99% | -1.51% |
| Total cards issued | 32,048 | 47,966 | 59,258 | 65,080 | 74,544 | 14.54% | 26.09% |
| Cards per capita - Kazakhstan | 1.72 | 2.54 | 3.10 | 3.31 | 3.75 | 13.01% | 24.12% |
| Payment cards per capita - EA10 total | 1.50 | 1.65 | 1.82 | 2.09 | 2.42 | 15.79% | 11.57% |
| Active Cards | |||||||
| Active domestic cards | 4,190 | 9,635 | 12,192 | 13,438 | 15,948 | 18.68% | 266.86% |
| Active international cards | 13,987 | 17,144 | 18,221 | 19,993 | 22,737 | 13.72% | 14.84% |
| - active VISA cards | 6,889 | 10,102 | 12,684 | 16,698 | 19,373 | 16.02% | 23.50% |
| - active MasterCard cards | 6,398 | 6,301 | 4,810 | 2,711 | 2,885 | 6.42% | -5.28% |
| - other cards | 700 | 741 | 727 | 584 | 479 | -17.98% | -10.92% |
| Total of active cards | 18,176 | 26,779 | 30,413 | 33,431 | 38,685 | 15.72% | 27.67% |
| Active cards in % | 56.7% | 55.8% | 51.3% | 51.4% | 51.9% | 1.02% | 1.25% |
| Active cards per capita | 0.98 | 1.42 | 1.59 | 1.70 | 1.94 | 14.17% | 25.68% |
| Note: other cards include UnionPay cards and American Express cards. Domestic cards include AltynCard cards. | |||||||
| Source: National Bank of Kazakhstan. | |||||||
| 10 - ATM Transactions in Kazakhstan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | GR 22/23 | CAGR 5Y | |
| ATM withdrawals (m) | 375.8 | 297.4 | 271.1 | 254.3 | 241.1 | -5.19% | -3.38% |
| - local systems | 6.0 | 9.8 | 21.0 | 38.4 | 58.8 | 53.19% | 177.74% |
| - international systems | 369.8 | 287.5 | 250.2 | 215.9 | 182.3 | -15.57% | -8.62% |
| - VISA | 147.7 | 135.0 | 158.0 | 166.1 | 152.6 | -8.15% | 0.36% |
| - MasterCard | 207.1 | 140.1 | 81.1 | 41.0 | 23.1 | -43.70% | -28.18% |
| - other cards | 15.0 | 12.5 | 11.1 | 8.8 | 6.6 | -24.81% | -15.58% |
| Withdrawals in % of total transactions | 23.9% | 9.4% | 4.1% | 3.0% | 2.1% | -30.19% | -43.22% |
| Cash withdrawals per capita | 20.2 | 15.8 | 14.2 | 13.0 | 12.1 | -6.46% | -4.89% |
| Value of withdrawals (KZTbn) | 16,324.6 | 16,620.5 | 20,590.0 | 21,356.5 | 23,052.3 | 7.94% | 11.15% |
| - local systems | 286.3 | 392.5 | 1,298.0 | 2,672.1 | 4,663.7 | 74.53% | 205.52% |
| - international systems | 16,038.2 | 16,228.0 | 19,291.9 | 18,684.4 | 18,388.7 | -1.58% | 6.27% |
| - VISA | 8,036.1 | 8,713.0 | 12,567.2 | 14,146.6 | 14,944.9 | 5.64% | 12.46% |
| - MasterCard | 7,320.6 | 6,871.0 | 6,074.3 | 3,986.5 | 2,953.3 | -25.92% | -8.67% |
| - other cards | 681.6 | 644.0 | 650.4 | 551.3 | 490.5 | -11.03% | -4.39% |
| % of total card transactions | 53.7% | 32.0% | 22.0% | 17.1% | 14.0% | -18.13% | -27.13% |
| ATV per cash withdrawals (KZT) | 43,438.7 | 55,887.8 | 75,936.2 | 83,982.6 | 95,612.0 | 13.85% | 15.05% |
| Note: other cards include UnionPay cards and American Express cards; domestic cards include AltynCard cards. | |||||||
| Source: National Bank of Kazakhstan. | |||||||
| 11 - Card Payments in Kazakhstan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | GR 22/23 | CAGR 5Y | |
| Number of payments (000s) | 1,195,417 | 2,878,476 | 6,271,337 | 8,256,634 | 11,317,866 | 37.08% | 84.89% |
| - local systems | 345,351 | 1,979,330 | 5,124,993 | 7,290,148 | 9,655,053 | 32.44% | 1118.12% |
| - international systems | 850,066 | 899,146 | 1,146,344 | 1,296,616 | 1,662,813 | 28.24% | 25.99% |
| - VISA | 225,806 | 340,277 | 716,075 | 966,486 | 1,424,882 | 47.43% | 43.99% |
| - MasterCard | 618,860 | 553,573 | 413,445 | 211,887 | 175,886 | -16.99% | -9.22% |
| - other cards | 5,400 | 5,296 | 16,824 | 118,243 | 62,045 | -47.53% | 49.58% |
| Payments in % of total transactions | 76.1% | 90.6% | 95.9% | 97.0% | 97.9% | 0.93% | 8.65% |
| Card payments per capita | 64.2 | 152.5 | 328.0 | 420.5 | 568.7 | 35.24% | 82.00% |
| Value of payments (KZTbn) | 14,050.8 | 35,294.8 | 73,123.3 | 103,787.6 | 141,940.2 | 36.76% | 85.93% |
| - local systems | 4,916.8 | 25,635.4 | 58,304.6 | 80,253.1 | 111,865.1 | 39.39% | 393.36% |
| - international systems | 9,134.0 | 9,659.4 | 14,818.7 | 23,534.5 | 30,075.1 | 27.79% | 36.49% |
| - VISA | 3,681.5 | 5,179.8 | 10,189.8 | 14,199.5 | 22,571.6 | 58.96% | 46.31% |
| - MasterCard | 5,354.7 | 4,410.7 | 4,487.8 | 4,254.2 | 5,212.0 | 22.51% | 13.25% |
| - other cards | 97.8 | 68.9 | 141.1 | 5080.8 | 2291.5 | -54.90% | 65.53% |
| Value in % of total transactions value | 46.3% | 68.0% | 78.0% | 82.9% | 86.0% | 3.73% | 21.89% |
| ATV per card payment (KZT) | 11,753.90 | 12,261.63 | 11,659.92 | 12,570.21 | 12,541.25 | -0.23% | 0.57% |
| Note: other cards include UnionPay cards and American Expres cards. Domestic cards include AltynCard cards. | |||||||
| Source: National Bank of Kazakhstan. | |||||||
| 12 - E-money Use in Kazakhstan | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | GR 22/23 | |
| E-Money Institutions (EMIs) | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 30 | 25.00% |
| - of which banks | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 0.00% |
| E-money issued (KZT bn) | 572.8 | 323.9 | 263.0 | 514.0 | 596.0 | 15.95% |
| Total e-money purchases (m) | 174.9 | 149.9 | 112.0 | 234.0 | 234.0 | 0.00% |
| - of which by individuals (m) | 21.0 | 8.1 | 3.1 | na | na | na |
| - of which by entreprenuers and corporate entities (m) | 153.9 | 141.8 | 108.9 | na | na | na |
| Total e-money purchases value (KZT bn) | 580.2 | 323.9 | 263.0 | 514.0 | 596.0 | 15.95% |
| - of which by individuals (KZT bn) | 426.1 | 43.1 | 22.0 | na | na | na |
| - of which by entreprenuers and corporate entities (KZT bn) | 154.1 | 280.8 | 241.0 | na | na | na |
| ATV per e-money purchase (KZT) | 3,317.32 | 2,160.77 | 2,348.21 | 2,196.58 | 2,547.01 | 15.95% |
| Source: National Bank of Kazakhstan. | ||||||
| 13 - Halyk Bank Key Figures | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | GR 22/23 | CAGR 5Y | |
| Payment cardholders (000s) | 7,951 | 7,600 | 5,800 | 6,400 | 7,000 | 9.38% | -3.57% |
| Plastic cards of payroll programme (000s) | na | 5,450 | 2,500 | 2,700 | 2,900 | na | na |
| Payroll project clients | 31,959 | 33,000 | 33,231 | 33,174 | 33,009 | -0.50% | -4.24% |
| Internet banking clients | 4,241,294 | 6,186,671 | 7,998,879 | 9,415,716 | 10,458,671 | 11.08% | 23.88% |
| Mobile banking clients | 4,200,000 | 4,300,000 | 4,200,000 | 5,100,000 | 7,900,000 | 54.90% | 20.61% |
| Branches and outlets | 626 | 611 | 589 | 572 | 570 | -0.35% | -2.50% |
| ATMs | 4,459 | 4,596 | 4,526 | 4,580 | 4,579 | -0.02% | 0.76% |
| POS terminals | 88,463 | 101,509 | 148,351 | 275,812 | 330,847 | 19.95% | 37.61% |
| Multi-kiosks | 32 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | na | -100.00% |
| Note: 2017 figures are for Halyk Bank and Kazkommertsbank following their merger at end-2017/H2-2018. | |||||||
| Note: payroll projects are with government and private entities; multi-kiosks are information and transaction terminals. | |||||||
| Source: Halyk Savings Bank. | |||||||
| NOTE: Branches and outlets = branches, sub regional offices and cash settlement units | |||||||