Kazakh FinTech business opportunities being driven to other countries

As FinTech continues to become an important aspect of how financial markets all over the world operate, pressure from Kazakh regulators and information attacks directed against the online lending sector of Kazakhstan are forcing many businessmen to look for opportunities elsewhere, taking away much-needed capital, technology and trained personnel from the country. For example, FinTech companies in Kazakhstan are charged with exorbitant interest rates — up to 700% per annum — that are based on emotional assessments and not a real assessment of potential. Moreover, Kazakh citizens are not being given a chance to access financial services that FinTech solutions could provide them. As a result, they have nowhere to turn but to a thriving black lending and/or unofficial lending market, which is estimated at USD 500 million in the country. Regulators need to understand the entire financial ecosystem and let markets develop to serve them in a way that protects consumers and also provides benefits to the state in terms of added revenue, economic growth and job creation.

Source: kapital.kz