Central Asia fintech news
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Kazakhstan raises foreign currency deposit rate to 2.5%, tenge deposits drop below 20%, and 38 more stories of the week
AFSA Warns of Fake License Under the Name Investlink Ltd: Event of the Week and 16 More
National Bank of Kazakhstan implements SupTech platform for payment market supervision
BlackRock ready to channel more capital into Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan's ARDFM presents six draft resolutions and 4 other stories of the week
ForteBank changes ForteLeasing buyer, records impairment loss
Bakai Business drops to ★4.02: charts for August 31 – September 7
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Kazakhstan cuts rates as inflation falls below 10%, and 4 other stories of the week
August 30 – September 6: Rate easing in Kazakhstan, yuan bonds on AIX, Single QR expansion in Uzbekistan, and other market events.
Markets in Kazakhstan: What happened in August
A contextual breakdown of the month’s main financial sector themes: macroeconomics, banks, and exchange infrastructure.
Directory pulse: August 24–31 week
What happened in the Central Asian fintech market during the last week of summer.
Kazakhstan plans to exempt QR payments and mobile transfers from VAT
The government is discussing expanding tax exemptions to all types of digital payments under the new Tax Code.
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Market signals: August 20–23 week
Key events in the Central Asian fintech market for August 20–23
Kazakhstan introduces 14-day cooling-off period for loans and insurance
Starting October 2026, borrowers can cancel unsecured loans and bundled services without penalties. Banks are banned from using pre-checked boxes in apps.
Market Signals: August 18–21
Key events in the Central Asian fintech market: debt rotation and new KASE listings
Catalog pulse: August 10–17 week
What happened in the Central Asian fintech market: falling B2B app ratings, 24 releases, and new ARDFM rules
Market Signals: Week of August 6–13
Key fintech events in Central Asia: from KASE halting US Treasury trades to new crypto licenses in Uzbekistan
EU sanctions on Zolotaya Korona reshape Kazakhstan's money transfer market
Following the block on the system that controlled 83% of outbound transfers, Kazakhstanis will have to switch to Western Union and MoneyGram
Eurasian Bank analyzes transactions: retail client spending peaks on Saturday
Payment behavior research shows how banks can use data to shift from mass mailings to personalized offers
Kazakhstan's foreign cashless payments grow 10-fold in six years
The share of cashless payments abroad reached 93%. Online purchases and smartphone transfers drove the growth, while POS terminal transactions began to decline.
Kazakhstan's Unified QR Exposes Bank Tariff Battle for Business
The universal payment system was supposed to free entrepreneurs from keeping multiple terminals at the checkout. In practice, the interbank service proved noticeably more expensive than the banks’ own QR solutions.
Kaspi.kz completes acquisition of Rabobank in Turkey: the bank will become the financial base for Hepsiburada
The Kazakhstani fintech holding has officially closed the deal to acquire the Turkish bank. The company needs the license to launch financial services around the Hepsiburada marketplace.
Why Kazakhstani Beginners Abandon Investing After the First Dip
Opening a brokerage account takes just a few clicks, but beginners close them after the first dip—scared off by terminal jargon and a portfolio in the red.
KMF Bank Raises $10 Million from Turkic Investment Fund for Business Lending
This is the fund’s first deal in the region. The money will go to support small and medium-sized businesses trading with the organization’s member countries.