Starting October 2026, Kazakhstani borrowers will have the right to cancel unsecured loans within 14 days without paying a penalty. The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) approved the new requirements for financial organizations, Tengrinews reports.
The cooling-off period applies to the loan itself, voluntary insurance, and any additional services sold alongside the credit. Upon canceling the contract, the client will only pay interest for the actual days they used the money. For insurance, the bank will retain a portion of the premium proportional to the policy’s active period or recover actual expenses incurred.
The resolution also changes how credit products are sold through digital channels. The regulator explicitly banned banks and microfinance organizations from using pre-checked boxes to obtain consent for additional services.
Financial organizations must now conduct a product suitability assessment. Before issuing a loan, the lender must ensure the product aligns with the client’s goals, income, and current debt load. If the borrower’s profile does not fit the conditions, offering the loan is prohibited.
The changes will also affect marketing communications. Banks can no longer advertise the absence of one fee while hiding other charges. When promoting promotional rates, lenders must specify their duration and the standard terms that apply after the grace period ends.
For banks and MFOs, this means rebuilding digital sales funnels: abandoning automatic consent and allowing legal insurance cancellations will directly hit commission revenues.
The ARDFM resolution was adopted on August 3, 2026, and will take effect 60 days after its official publication.