Brief Conclusion
Transport features in banks have reached a high level of penetration due to state regulation and QR integration, but the main barrier remains the lack of a seamless experience: the user still has to juggle several apps to plan a trip and pay for it.
Product Barriers and User Pain Points
The Fear of “Digital Paralysis”
A critical barrier for many users is the fear of being blocked on a toll road, parking lot, or in public transport if the bank app or internet connection fails at the wrong moment. This forces clients to opt out of automatic deductions.
Negative Associations and Debt Pressure
If a user has an active loan with arrears or a court arrest on accounts in a specific bank, any transport features in that app cause stress. The client is in a panic that the money deposited to pay for a fare or parking will be instantly debited to pay off the debt, leaving them unable to travel.
The Gap in Interfaces and Scenarios
It is inconvenient for users to check bus routes in one app (for example, CityBus or Onay) and pay for the fare by scanning a QR code in another (banking app). The lack of a unified “planned the route — paid — traveled” scenario reduces the value of superapps.
Why It Matters
Transport is one of the highest-frequency categories of everyday spending (transaction frequency metric). The bank that can step over the barrier of a “simple payment gateway” and integrate a live city map, transport schedule, and taxi hailing into its maps will receive a colossal layer of data on user movements and multiply their daily engagement.
FAQ
Why do Kazakhstanis still use specialized apps (e.g., Onay or Yandex Go) instead of banking services?
Specialized apps cover the basic need for navigation and real-time transport tracking. Banking apps currently only know how to process payments, depriving the user of the trip’s context.
How can banks reduce the fear of “digital paralysis” on toll roads and parking lots?
It is necessary to implement local offline payment confirmation protocols, develop transparent systems of instant push notifications about the status of auto-debits, and guarantee uninterrupted service operation even at a zero balance with a subsequent soft overdraft.
What should the ideal transport service in a superapp look like?
Kazakhstanis see the ideal service as a single urban mobility hub that combines building an optimal route, choosing between modes of transport (bus, metro, taxi, scooter), and automatic seamless one-touch payment without unnecessary scanning.
Original research source: Rocket Tech: How Kazakhstanis pay for transport in banking ecosystems