The volume of cross-border money transfers via money transfer systems in Kazakhstan dropped from 56.4 billion tenge in July to 27.9 billion tenge in August, marking the lowest figure since April 2020.
Year-on-year, the decline was even steeper: in August 2025, the volume stood at 72.7 billion tenge, meaning flows dropped by 2.6 times over the year. Inflows to Kazakhstan also fell, with 12.2 billion tenge arriving from abroad in August compared to 15.9 billion tenge in July and 20.9 billion tenge a year earlier.
The sharpest drop occurred in transfers to Russia, which tumbled 14.3 times from 17.1 billion tenge in July to 1.2 billion tenge in August. Transfers to Uzbekistan slipped by 39.5% to 12.3 billion tenge. In the opposite direction, inflows from Russia plunged 11.9 times, from 2.9 billion to 239.2 million tenge.
The steep August drop coincided with restrictions surrounding the Zolotaya Korona system. On July 24, Kazakhstani banks began reporting the temporary unavailability of transfers via the system, and on July 24, RNKO Payment Center—the operator and settlement center for Zolotaya Korona—was placed on the EU sanctions list.