Bank / superapp
Kaspi.kz
Anchor ecosystem for payments, e-commerce, lending, and merchant services.
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Market profile · Updated May 28, 2026
Fintech landscape of Kazakhstan🇰🇿
The region’s most mature fintech market: banking ecosystems, 98%+ cashless card transactions, the digital tenge, and a separate AIFC/AFSA framework.
Context
Kazakhstan sets the pace for the region: major banks are building ecosystems around payments, marketplaces, and investments, while AIFC/AFSA remains a separate regulatory perimeter for international fintech companies.
Over the past few years, fintech in Kazakhstan has evolved from a disconnected set of apps into everyday infrastructure. Payments, installments, delivery, brokerage accounts, and credit scoring increasingly live within a single customer journey.
Bank ecosystems are the market's main engine. They retain access to mass users through payroll projects, QR payments, marketplaces, BNPL, and investment products. Competition is no longer just about rates or fees, but about the app's place in the customer's daily routine.
The second line of development is infrastructure. The Digital Tenge has gone through pilot and limited production scenarios since 2023; by 2026, it is important not to confuse the project's total issuance with the constant balance in circulation.
AIFC and AFSA give Kazakhstan the role of a regional gateway. Through this perimeter, companies gain access to the FinTech Lab, DASP licenses, stablecoin rules, and investment products, without mixing the AIFC regime with overall national regulation.
The main risk is concentration. Strong ecosystems accelerate the market but simultaneously make it dependent on a few major players. The next stage will be determined by whether a more open layer emerges around them: APIs, independent processing, RegTech, SME-SaaS, and specialized B2B fintechs.
role
The region's leading market for fintech infrastructure maturity.
focus
CBDC, AIFC/AFSA, banking ecosystems, BNPL, open banking.
signal
Index growth depends on the commercial launch of the digital tenge and the openness of the infrastructure layer.
Key metrics
Macro & regulator
Currency
tenge (KZT)
national currency; official exchange rate published by НБК
Policy rate
17.0
НБК decision of 08.06.2026
Inflation
10.6%
annual inflation, April 2026
Regulator
НБК / АРРФР / AFSA
central bank, financial market, and AIFC perimeter
USD Rate
470.28 ₸
1 USD, official rate as of 21.07.2026
EUR Rate
537.53 ₸
1 EUR, official rate as of 21.07.2026
RUB Rate
5.99 ₸
1 RUB, official rate as of 21.07.2026
UZS Rate
3.94 ₸
100 UZS, official rate as of 21.07.2026
KGS Rate
5.38 ₸
1 KGS, official rate as of 21.07.2026
AZN Exchange Rate
277.45 ₸
1 AZN, official exchange rate as of 21.07.2026
Market and scale
Population
20.4 mln
as of July 1, 2025; exactly 20,387,811 people
GDP per capita
$14,770
nominal GDP per capita, 2025; PPP is about $44,450
National GDP
~$300 billion
nominal GDP, 2025
Median age
29.7 years
single baseline for the country index: UN World Population Prospects
Urban population
63%
12.77 million out of 20.29 million as of January 1, 2025
Digital infrastructure
Internet penetration
92.9%
19.2 million users, early 2025
Bank account ownership
~80% of adults
Global Findex; this is not an online banking metric
Mobile banking
24.8-27 million activations
total across banks, not unique users
4G / 5G
4G ~92%; 5G ~20 cities
3000+ 5G base stations, 2025
Fintech specifics
Cashless transactions
98%
by number of card transactions; in March 2026 - 98.42%
Cashless volume
87%
by value of card transactions; in March 2026 - 88.12%
Volume of cashless transactions
186 trillion ₸
card transactions, 2025; all NBRK payment systems - about 1.5 quadrillion ₸
Fintech companies
~200 startups
separately 212 licensed MFIs; these are different registries
Money transfers
$0.24 billion
inbound transfers, 2024; Kazakhstan is a net donor to UZ/TJ/KG
Cashless by region
8.3-27.4%
cash withdrawal share by region; this is an inverse cashless metric
BNPL
~2.3 trillion ₸
September 2024; all major operators are banks, no independent fintech BNPLs exist
E-wallets
61 million issued
issued, inactive; 49 million by Q1 2026
Regulatory environment
Fintech sandbox
AIFC FinTech Lab
since 2018; about 19 FinTech Lab participants; entire AIFC - 4,954 participants, including 510 financial
CBDC
pilot since 2023
total issuance of 336.6 billion ₸; legal provisions took effect on July 18, 2026
Open Banking
P2P: 12 banks
pilot since 2023; P2P by phone number available to clients of 12 banks since February 2026
Crypto licenses
28 DASP
9 full licenses + 19 FinTech Lab; about 12 licensed exchanges
Stablecoins
framework + issuer
AFSA Framework since January 1, 2024; first issuer license for AnchorX in June 2025
Venture landscape
VC volume
$71 million (2024)
74% of the region’s $95 million; 2025 is preliminary, not finalized
Fintech in VC
~40% of deals
by number of deals, not volume; Higgsfield is not counted as fintech
Largest fintech deal
Solva $20 million
largest verified fintech deal of 2024; Higgsfield $130M is AI/video, not fintech
Astana Hub
#70 globally; #1 in Central Asia
StartupBlink Global Index 2025; 2000+ hub participants
Regional venture report
KPMG/RISE, 2nd ed.
March 2025, 2024 data
AIFC crypto market
$10.58 billion
full 2025; 215,000 clients; $6.8 billion in Q1-Q3
Market players
Bank / ecosystem
Halyk Bank
The country's largest bank; digital ecosystem around Homebank, business, and investments.
Digital/app-first bank
Freedom Bank
About 2.6 trillion ₸ in assets; meets 3 of 4 SuperApp criteria: BNPL, third-party services, and payment infrastructure.
Bank / BNPL
Bank CenterCredit
About 8.4 trillion ₸ in assets; develops BNPL through bnpl.kz and a strong SME ecosystem.
Banking group
Forte / Home Credit
Home Credit has been a subsidiary bank of ForteBank since 30.12.2025; legal merger in progress.
New STB
BNK Commercial Bank
22nd second-tier bank; Korean BNK Capital, license 25.06.2025.
Islamic banking
ADCB Islamic Bank / Zaman Bank
Separate layer of Islamic banks; Al Hilal renamed to ADCB Islamic Bank.
Market companies
Banks20
IT vendors20
Fintech102
AcreditМФО и онлайн-кредитование
Airba PayЭквайринг и процессинг
ALD PAYСупераппы
AmanatСтрахование
AmokaЭквайринг и процессингAnyFlowЭквайринг и процессинг
ATAIX EurasiaКриптобиржи и обмен
AvtobysТранспортные платежи
Binance KazakhstanКриптобиржи и обмен
Bitfinex Securities KazakhstanИнвестиции и биржиConsulting13
AIFC Tech Hubисследования
Boston Consulting Groupконсалтинг
BRIF Research Groupисследования
DJAMдизайн
FinTech Consultконсалтинг
KPMG Caucasus and Central Asiaконсалтинг
McKinsey & Companyконсалтинг
Oliver Wymanконсалтинг
Outpost Eurasiaконсалтинг
PwC / Strategy&консалтинг
RISE Researchисследования
Rocket AI/UX LabисследованияFintech news Kazakhstan
All →Altyn Bank launches "Altyn Uya" mortgage program with 20% minimum down payment
Altyn Bank has introduced its new “Altyn Uya” mortgage program featuring a fixed rate between 7% and 16% per annum and a down payment starting at 20% of the property value.
Smart Data Finance helps Kazakh tax authorities spot income and spending discrepancies
The Smart Data Finance system gathers information on citizens’ real estate, cars, and other assets from 80 sources to detect mismatches between declared income and spending.
AIFC adds digital assets to Investment Tax Residency Programme
The Astana International Financial Centre has expanded its partnership with Bybit Kazakhstan and Binance Kazakhstan, adding digital assets to the Investment Tax Residency Programme (ITRP).
Halyk Finance completes technical unit split across three mutual funds
JSC Halyk Finance executed a technical unit split on October 5, 2026, across three interval mutual funds: Dollar Bonds (1:1000 split), Global Equities (1:100), and Bolashaq – Shares of the Future (1:10).
Halyk Bank mobile app goes down under heavy traffic
According to profit.kz, clients of Kazakhstan’s Halyk Bank faced technical issues logging into the mobile app on October 6, with the system displaying a notice of temporary access restrictions due to heavy load.
KASE Unveils Architecture for Solana-Based Digital Asset Trading Platform
Kazakhstani exchange KASE presented its Digital Assets Platform (DAP) at Solana Summit Singapore to support digital financial instruments from Kazakhstani issuers on the Solana blockchain.
Dig deeper
All topics →Fintech of KazakhstanBanks and payments, marketplaces, regulation and deals that drive Kazakhstan’s fintech.Unified QR in KazakhstanThe interbank mobile payments system and unified QR code: who is connected, how it works and what it changes for merchants and shoppers in Kazakhstan.Fintech of UzbekistanPayment apps and processing, marketplaces, BNPL and banks of Uzbekistan’s fast-growing fintech market.Fintech of KyrgyzstanMobile banks and wallets, money transfers, digital assets and payments of Kyrgyzstan’s small market.Fintech of AzerbaijanBanks and digital wallets, cashless payments, regulation and deals of Azerbaijan’s fintech market.Fintech of TajikistanMobile banks and wallets, money transfers, payments and digital services of Tajikistan’s small market.Islamic banking in KazakhstanIslamic banks and windows, regulation, sukuk, investments and customer products — how Islamic finance is growing in Kazakhstan.Islamic banking in UzbekistanRegulation, Islamic products, banks, investments, sukuk and customer demand — Islamic finance of Uzbekistan.Crypto in KazakhstanCrypto exchanges and AFSA licences, mining, the digital tenge, taxes and the rules of Kazakhstan’s digital asset market.Crypto in UzbekistanLicensed crypto exchanges, mining, NAPP regulation and the rules of digital asset turnover in Uzbekistan.AI in KazakhstanAI in banks and payments, government services, Astana Hub and AIFC infrastructure, regulation, data and talent in Kazakhstan.AI in UzbekistanNational AI strategy, AI in fintech and payments, digital government services, IT Park, data and talent in Uzbekistan.BNPL in Central AsiaInstalments and embedded finance, marketplaces, credit scoring and BNPL regulation in Central Asia.Regulators of Central AsiaCentral banks and financial regulators of Central Asia and Azerbaijan: who regulates what, licences, payment rules and supervision.Payment systems of Central AsiaNational card schemes, instant payments, QR and cross-border transfers: how the region’s payment infrastructure works.