The National Bank of Kazakhstan cut its base rate on October 23 and explained when the effect will reach loans and deposits. The Astana International Financial Centre registered the country’s third Islamic bank, and the Financial Monitoring Agency uncovered a microfinance organization scheme affecting tens of thousands of borrowers. Uzbekistan allowed electronic ID cards in banks and airports, while the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan fined exchange bureaus and payment organizations and suspended one license for five days.
The Main Stories
National Bank of Kazakhstan cuts base rate to 15.75%
On October 23, the National Bank of Kazakhstan announced a cut in the base rate to 15.75% and held a briefing with experts that same day. Chairman Timur Suleimenov explained in a regulator statement and a separate briefing that banks do not rewrite existing loan agreements immediately after a rate cut. Specific terms are fixed in contracts and reviewed as they expire, with the full effect on loan rates taking 9–12 months. Since early 2026, the economy’s loan rate has already dropped by 1 percentage point. Suleimenov also explained why the UAPF pension fund, with 27 trillion tenge in assets, cannot place all savings in the domestic market: the Kazakhstani securities market is not developed enough for such volume, so the fund distributes funds across different currencies and issuers. UAPF’s yield has fallen to 9.91% since the start of the year amid the tenge’s strengthening.
Third Islamic bank registers in Kazakhstan
On October 16, 2026, Tansar Islamic Bank Ltd registered at the Astana International Financial Centre with an authorized capital of $12 million. Former National Bank Deputy Chairman Yeszhan Birtanov joined the bank's board of directors alongside Yerzhan Agibayev and Aidos Musatayev from investment company Tansar Capital. Birtanov chairs the Tansar Capital board. Rustem Baimakhanov is the bank’s CEO. Created by Tansar Group JSC, the bank will finance operations according to Sharia law: managing client funds, processing payments and transfers, exchanging currency, and offering targeted investment accounts with profit sharing. Kazakhstan already has two Islamic banks, ADCB Islamic Bank and Zaman Bank. Since March 2026, traditional banks can open “Islamic windows” for Sharia-compliant services.
FMA uncovers Express Zaim MFO scheme affecting 43,000 borrowers
Since August 2024, the microfinance organization Express Zaim forced borrowers to buy a paid consulting service and included its cost in the debt amount, the Financial Monitoring Agency reported. Clients were told they would not receive or extend a loan without this service, and the option to refuse was hidden. Borrowers received less money than expected but repaid the full debt with interest. The service was forced again upon loan extension. The scheme affected 43,000 people across 18 regions of Kazakhstan, with over 181,000 contracts signed. The FMA department for the Kyzylorda region is investigating alongside the NSC, coordinated by the prosecutor’s office. A preventive measure has been chosen for the MFO’s deputy director, according to inbusiness.kz.
EDB and partners to create Central Asia private equity fund
The Eurasian Development Bank will create the Central Asia and Caucasus Private Equity Fund (CACPEF) with the China Investment Corporation, the Oman Investment Authority, the Uzbekistan Fund for Reconstruction and Development, Turkey’s OYAK fund, and Shenwan Hongyuan Securities. The fund will invest in regional companies, combining capital and business connections of institutional investors from China, the Middle East, and Central Asia, and giving them access to partners’ industry expertise and technologies. EDB Deputy Chairman Daniyar Imangaliyev noted that participating in the fund’s preparation will help attract additional resources to member countries’ economies.
Uzbekistan allows electronic ID cards in banks and airports
Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Justice amended departmental acts, registered on October 20 under numbers 3958 and 3959, which allow citizens to present electronic versions of passports, ID cards, and other documents alongside paper ones via the MyGovUz and Social Card apps. Digital versions are accepted in banks for identity verification, by notaries for notarial acts, at airports for domestic flight check-in, and when signing contracts with telecom operators, pawnshops, and for paid services in medical and social institutions. Electronic document versions have had the same legal force as paper ones since July 1, 2025.
By Country
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan
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Digital public services. Kazakhstanis can now remotely attach to a polyclinic via the Kaspi.kz app. The service in the Public Services section shows current attachment and CSHI system status, allowing users to choose a new clinic and doctor. It was developed with the Ministry of Healthcare, the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, and National Information Technologies JSC.
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Lender supervision. In the Almaty and Turkestan regions, authorities stopped the Albi pawnshop network, which continued operating as Albi-KM after being excluded from the microfinance organization register, kapital.kz reports. The pawnshops issued loans secured by jewelry at 2% per day, more than six times the legal limit of 0.3%. Contracts used pledge tickets with the former company’s seals, and settlements were in cash and through controlled individual entrepreneur accounts. Criminal income exceeded 146 million tenge. A court seized the suspect’s property, including 21 apartments, 5 land plots, 7 cars, 7 garages, 2 shops, and a hotel. The criminal case has gone to court.
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Housing and Otbasy Bank mortgages. From February 2024 to October 2026, the National Fund for Children program paid out $88.86 million to 407,145 beneficiaries: 267,986 people received $58.29 million to improve housing conditions, and 139,159 people received $30.57 million for education. From early 2026 to October 1, 211,748 Kazakhstanis received $57.59 million. Starting October 31, Otbasy Bank is changing how it calculates loan organization fees. The base fee remains 1% of the loan amount, but the maximum limit now scales with the loan size: 300,000 tenge for loans up to 50 million tenge, 500,000 for loans from 50 to 100 million, and 1 million tenge for loans over 100 million. The ceiling was previously a flat 300,000 tenge regardless of the amount. The bank says 92% of clients take loans under 50 million tenge, so their terms have not changed. The bank may also remove about 200,000 of the over one million Kazakhstanis waiting for preferential housing. An inventory identified those who no longer need housing or lost their right to it due to property ownership or loss of citizenship. As of October 21, 1,089,634 people are in line. Otbasy Bank is also preparing to accept applications in early November for the second 20 billion tenge tranche of the Umai women’s mortgage program, approved by the Asian Development Bank. The first 9 billion tenge tranche was exhausted in one day on August 31, gathering 855 applications, resulting in 366 loans issued by October 12. The program’s rate is 14.8% annually with a maximum loan of 50 million tenge, but the bank notes terms are under review due to the base rate change.
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Retail deposits. The retail deposit base of Kazakhstani banks grew by 8.3% to over 30.5 trillion tenge in January-August 2026. Tenge deposits drove the entire increase, rising 12.2% to 24.7 trillion tenge, while foreign currency deposits fell 5.6% to 5.9 trillion tenge. The retail base’s dollarization share dropped from 22% early in the year to 19.2%. Non-term deposits remain the largest product at 14 trillion tenge, nearly half the base, but the share of term and savings deposits is growing: from 15.6% in Q1 2025 to 30.9% in Q2 2026. Accounts over 20 million tenge hold 45% of all retail funds. The weighted average rate on retail tenge deposits fell 0.7 percentage points to 14.6% as the base rate dropped 1.75 percentage points to 16.25% during the reporting period. The NBK cut it further to 15.75% on October 23.
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Military loans. The Kazakhstani agency reminded that deferrals on bank and microloans are granted automatically for the entire conscription period and 60 calendar days after. Payments are suspended, interest does not accrue, and there is no need to contact the bank. Issuing new loans is prohibited during conscription.
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Halyk Bank. The bank notified it will close over 35,000 current accounts of individual entrepreneurs and legal entities with no movement for over a year, publishing a masked list of 35,454 accounts with partial details. Retail accounts are unaffected. To keep an account, clients must apply to remove the dormant status via Onlinebank or at a branch within 10 working days.
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Kaspi payments. Kaspi.kz added tourist eSIM sales for roaming in over 160 countries, including Turkey, Egypt, Vietnam, Thailand, and China, to its app. Base traffic costs start at 470 tenge per 1 GB. Registration is fully online in the Kaspi Travel section, paid with a Kaspi Gold card or Kaspi Bonuses. The profile activates upon arrival in the destination country, and the eSIM can be transferred to another user via QR code.
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Business lending. At the end of August 2026, SME lending in Kazakhstan reached 12.7 trillion tenge, up 24.4% year-on-year, according to the NBK. Three cities of republican significance accounted for 68.3% of all SME loans: Almaty (5.2 trillion tenge), Astana (2.8 trillion tenge), and Shymkent (661.9 billion tenge). Almaty’s SME portfolio alone exceeded the combined total of all 17 regions by about 1.6 times. The SME share in total business lending rose to 64.5% from 59.5% a year earlier. The economy’s total loan portfolio reached 46.1 trillion tenge, up 12.9% year-on-year.
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Pension assets. The NBK’s loss from revaluing the UAPF pension fund’s foreign currency investments totaled 945 billion tenge in September: 592.26 billion tenge from foreign currency asset revaluation and 352.78 billion tenge from externally managed assets. UAPF’s yield fell from 4.20% in August to 2.91% in September. Over the year from October 2025 to September 2026, it dropped to 2.64% versus 6.17% a year earlier, with inflation at 9.3%. Pension assets under NBK management shrank for the first time in years, from 26.95 trillion to 26.63 trillion tenge. Investment income for the 12 months fell to 706.33 billion tenge against 1.58 trillion a year earlier. The main reason was the tenge strengthening against the dollar by 4.6-4.7% in September, with the exchange rate dropping from 462 to 440 tenge.
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan
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Card products. Ipoteka Bank launched the Uzcard Moment card, issued at branches in five minutes without waiting for production and immediately linked to the Ipoteka Mobile app. A passport or ID card is enough to apply. The card lacks the owner’s name but is fully identified in the bank’s system and works like a regular Uzcard for payments, transfers, cash withdrawals, and ATTO transit fare. Issuance is free for individuals at all Ipoteka Bank OTP Group branches until November 30, 2026. Since September 2026, Ipoteka Mobile has been downloaded over 340,000 times, with 241,000 active users. Separately, UZCARD, Hamkorbank, and the Nasaf football club launched the Fan Card. It works as a home match pass for season ticket holders and a regular UZCARD bank card for purchases and transfers. It is available on October 24 and 25 from 09:00 to 18:00 at pickup points at the club’s stadium.
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Payment infrastructure. In September 2026, the share of bank card payments at Uzbekistan gas stations rose to 91.9% from 91.2% in August, according to the Central Bank. There were 18.5 million transactions totaling 3.78 trillion soums. Of these, 91.9% (115.7 billion soums per day) were by bank cards, 5.7% by Moment cards, and 2.4% by fuel cards. Since April 1, 2026, payments at gas and charging stations must be cashless. The state aims to bring the country’s cashless payment share to 75% by 2030. Ipoteka Bank updated the Ipoteka Mobile app, adding international SWIFT transfers, service payments in Mening uyim with Uzcard and Humo cards, improved UzQR payments and currency exchange, simplified PIN setup and change, and the Uzcard Sherdor card option.
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Bank metrics. In the first nine months of 2026, Uzbekistan’s SQB bank capital grew 9.9% year-to-date to 13.1 trillion soums. Deposits rose 19.7% to 37.7 trillion soums, the retail loan portfolio grew 16.2%, and mortgages increased 23.5%.
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Tax pilot. Uzbekistan experimentally introduced an annual income and expense declaration for adult residents permanently registered in Chirchik and Navoi, according to podrobno.uz. Declarations cover 2026 and 2027 income: salary, property income, real estate and movable property expenses, taxes, utilities, and loans. They are submitted via the electronic tax services portal or the Soliq app by April 1 of the following year. The system will pull some data automatically from state databases, Soliq receipts, and electronic invoices. An increased gap between income and expenses does not automatically lead to tax assessments or sanctions, except under Article 393 of the Tax Code.
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Metal investments. The National Bank of Uzbekistan added the ability for legal entities to open unallocated metal accounts and trade gold and silver online via iBank internet banking to diversify capital. Connections are available at NBU branches or by calling the 1344 contact center.
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Depositor protection. Uzbekistan’s Deposit Guarantee Agency paid 207.5 billion soums in compensation to depositors of the closed Yangi Bank JSC, Agency Director Ulugbek Khamdamov said at an October 21 briefing. Within 11 working days of closure, 86% of depositors received their money. Business Development Bank JSC was appointed the agent bank for payouts and settled with 99.4% of depositors. About 1.5 billion soums of the transferred funds remain unclaimed. Before the bank closed, the agency reserved 250 billion soums. Citizens are guaranteed deposit returns up to 200 million soums in a single bank.
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Capital market. Vaqt Investitsiya Kompaniyasi LLC ceased operations as an investment intermediary in Uzbekistan’s capital market, the Toshkent Republican Stock Exchange reported. The exchange also participated in discussing the Tashkent International Financial Center’s development and held a meeting with Nasdaq representatives in Samarkand on October 19 to discuss exchange technologies and international experience. On October 23, Central Bank of Azerbaijan representatives reviewed ILMA’s capital market experience, NAPP reported.
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan
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Exchange bureau supervision. The National Bank of Kyrgyzstan fined an exchange bureau in the Jalal-Abad region 55,000 soms for violating legislation and regulator acts. In Bishkek, the regulator suspended the Altay Bekbay exchange bureau’s license for five days, from October 23 to 27, and fined four other capital exchange points 55,000 soms each for similar violations.
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Payment organization supervision. The NBK Supervisory Committee fined two payment organizations a total of 6.2 million soms for anti-money laundering violations. The first was fined 5.4 million soms for violating client verification procedures during international electronic transfers, and the second 804,000 soms for violations when establishing business relations and transfers. The regulator did not disclose the organizations’ names. A separate decision fined a Bishkek payment operator 55,000 soms for internal control shortcomings on the same issue.
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Money transfers. Total transfers to Kyrgyzstan in August 2026 reached $269.6 million: $240.9 million from CIS countries and $28.7 million from non-CIS countries. Transfers from Kyrgyzstan that month totaled $8.7 million: $3.2 million to the CIS and $5.5 million to non-CIS countries.
🇹🇯 Tajikistan
- Eskhata Bank ratings and awards. Global Finance magazine again included Tajikistan’s Eskhata Bank in its annual World’s Safest Banks ranking. The Tajikistan Banking Association awarded the bank the “Digital Lending Development” prize at the Banking Evolution Awards 2026, marking the republic’s 35th independence anniversary. Retail Business Block Head Armen Tsaturyan said 4 out of 5 retail loans at the bank are issued online.
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan
- Birbank Invest app update. Azerbaijani investment platform Birbank Invest, a Kapital Bank trademark partnering with PASHA Capital Investment Company, released app version 2.5.0 with a redesigned portfolio interface. It features a new yield chart comparing periods from one day to the entire asset holding term, an Analytics section with data on total yield, fees, dividends, and profitable trade share, and clearer asset allocation between stocks and ETFs. Additional face verification was removed for clients logging in via Bir ID, and the iOS design was updated using the Liquid Glass approach.
Regulators of the Week
The National Bank of Kyrgyzstan held an “Open Dialogue on Banking Sector Development” roundtable with Jogorku Kenesh specialized committee deputies and bank and MFO representatives, the regulator reported. It also submitted a draft resolution for public discussion on amending lending regulations. The document aims to improve the lending system, optimize banking processes, increase financial service accessibility for the public and business, and improve credit risk management approaches, the statement said. In Kazakhstan, the AIFC discussed new financial instruments on October 23: digital assets, tokenization, and event contracts.
On the Radar
- October 25: Fan Card issuance ends at FC Nasaf stadium points.
- October 27: The license suspension for the Altay Bekbay exchange bureau in Bishkek expires.
- October 31: New Otbasy Bank fee limits for loans over 50 million tenge take effect.
- Early November: Otbasy Bank plans to open applications for the second 20 billion tenge Umai mortgage tranche.
- November 30: Free issuance of the Uzcard Moment card at Ipoteka Bank expires.
- April 1 next year: The deadline to submit the pilot income and expense declaration for Chirchik and Navoi residents.
