Kazakhstan

The landscape around the financial sector has changed drastically recently, and the relatively straightforward indicators traditionally used to assess its growth and profitability are simply no longer applicable, at least in giving us the full picture. For example, GDP growth is no longer connected to lending as it used to …

The National Bank of Kazakhstan has announced that it is working on creating a digital version of its national currency. As part of the first step towards this aim, the National Bank is in the process of analyzing similar projects in other countries, especially China and Sweden. Specifically, they are …

With many companies expanding their product and service offering, it’s no surprise that we are seeing new and interesting combinations for what companies offer. For example, we have seen the Chinese messenger company WeChat become a major player in Chinese FinTech sector, offering services traditionally offered by financial institutions. In …

Kazakhstan began its journey toward digitization in 2006. Since that time, digitization has gained much traction in the country in both the public and commercial sectors. Our friends at Terrasoft sat down with Nurlan Akshanov, deputy chairman of Construction Savings Bank (one of the largest banks in Kazakhstan) to discuss …

There has been a large focus on how financial institutions are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, much of that focus has been of the financial services they are offering small- and medium-enterprises (SMEs) to help them get through the pandemic. Our friends at SME Banking Club decided to ask …

COVID-19 has impacted the way Kazakhstanis are living their lives, and many believe that the new normal will look very different from the old one. Within the banking sector, COVID-19 has pushed 7 key changes: Push toward online – COVID-19 has forced a quick transition to online financial services as …

Compliance is continuing to evolve in Kazakhstan, and our friends at banker.kz have outlined 7 key compliance trends for the country in 2020: Compliance risk management and internal control systems will be reviewed. The National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan passed revised risk management system and internal control requirements …

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 …