Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan suffers from a lack of digitalization in the financial sector, as is evident by the fact that there is not a single full-fledged digital financial institution in the country. Moreover, there seems to be a lack of understanding of what going digital means, with many financial institutions often only …

Insurance markets are changing all over the world thanks to digital innovations. This includes: changes to calculation models, increased competition (due to the rise of insurance platforms), a rise in the use of online data analysis, actuary skill development and new car insurance models. Although suffering from a number of …

Consumers choose to use digital services for one main reason – it solves an issue. In Kazakhstan, however, the adoption of digital services has been somewhat lower than in other countries. While a part of this lower adoption rate may be due to the consumer base in the country, the …

Kazakhstani police are investigating the leak of the personal data of Kazakhstani citizens. Earlier this year, it was discovered that an online database containing the personal data of about 11 million Kazakhstani voters was freely available to anyone for viewing and/or downloading. The data contained in the database was current …

Big Data technologies are gradually entering the Kazakh market. Large companies use solutions based on them, schools of big data analysts open, state projects on digitalization are launched. A lot of materials on this topic have been published in the local media this year, here are the main ones.   …

The government of Kazakhstan is planning to create the Personal Data Agency under the Security Committee of the Ministry of Digital Development. This new agency will be responsible for coordinating and improving the storage and security of personal data. This includes work to prevent and respond to personal data leaks. …

In Kazakhstan, biometrics as an identification tool is still a far-away dream. Currently, the existing state database of citizens is being used for biometrics in the country. Although 11 financial institutions have connected the database, only 3 are actively testing the system’s biometric identification capabilities. And even within those 3 …

A recent survey of 1,600 Kazakhstanis from 45 locales around the country indicates that a majority (55%) pay attention to the financial information of financial institutions, including credit rating and amount of equity. At the same time, more than half also indicated that they are still not ready to give …

New players, so-called BigTechs, are entering global financial markets and capturing new market niches by taking advantage of their technological innovations and huge customer bases. As these companies slowly begin their penetration into Kazakhstan, financial institutions in the country will need to choose one of three paths forward: Competition – …

Telecom companies and banks benefit from cooperation in the field of mobile finance, especially in regard to transfers and payments. In Kazakhstan, mobile finance is only at the beginning of its journey; however, there is enormous potential as mobile finance transactions amounted to KZT 65 billion last year.  Most of …

A new online platform (ISMET.kz) represents the next step for what a marketplace can offer businesses in Kazakhstan. Created by Kazakhtelecom JSC, it is the first B2B site in the country and enables small- and medium-sized businesses to access various online tools to help grow their business quickly and easily. …

Kairat Mazhibaev, Chairman of the Board for RESMI Group, has announced the creation of the Respublika Financial Systems Group. This new Group is planned to be an umbrella brand for approximately a dozen financial services that meets demands for digital versions of traditional financial services. The main goal of the …

Open APIs are starting to emerge as a trend in the market of IT solutions in Kazakhstan, with private banks actively exploring the potential of open APIs and the National Bank of Kazakhstan (National Bank) discussing how it will regulate open APIs in the financial sector. While awaiting regulations from …

The National Bank of Kazakhstan has initiated an open API program that will eventually allow consumers in Kazakhstan to use the internet services of any bank in the country. The program comes as Kazakhstani banks are becoming more interested and active in e-commerce, an important move as e-commerce in the …

The National Bank of Kazakhstan, together with the banking community, is implementing a number of new initiatives on the digitization of financial services such as its launch of the interbank Instant Payment System, a system which allows consumers to execute online payments instantly via a mobile number. The regulator is …

FinTech companies in Kazakhstan have helped thousands of people gain access to fast and convenient financial resources. Yet, FinTech companies in Kazakhstan are facing the same problems as FinTech companies across the world: limited available talent. Currently Kazakhstani FinTech companies are trying to overcome this issue by: (1) collaborating with …

According to the annual PwC salary and benefit review, Kazakhstani companies continued to improve business efficiency in 2018. The rate of return per employee (Human Capital ROI) grew 14% and reached USD 198,000. The share of labor costs also grew, on average, from 12% to 13%. This can be seen …

The National Bank of Kazakhstan introduced several changes last year that have affected online lending. Specifically, the Bank limited the annual effective rate to 100% and also reduced the total amount of repayment to a maximum of 100% of principal. In other words, a maximum of KZT 40,000 can be …

Non-cash transactions continue to increase in the Akmola region of Kazakhstan, especially in terms of monetary value. From November 2017 through November 2018, the total volume of non-cash payments in the region increased 6.2 times, reaching KZT 31.6 billion and exceeding ATM withdrawals (totaling KZT 29.6 billion) for the first …

In 2018, Kazakhstani financial institutions began working more closely with FinTech companies and purchasing a large number of FinTech products, giving more and more consumers in the country access to modern financial solutions like e-Wallets. In 2019, financial institutions in Kazakhstan are expected to continue their interest in FinTech solutions; …