Open interactive data dashboard → — player map, engagement metrics, and a breakdown of 12 verticals by the Rocket Tech research team.
What this research is about
A financial ecosystem (super app) in Kazakhstan is a multifunctional digital environment that covers not only the user's transactional needs but also everyday tasks: buying food, tickets, paying for transit, accessing government services, and managing healthcare.
This hub brings together a series of materials on how users choose ecosystems, what barriers they face when using various services, and what solutions help fintech players increase audience engagement.
How the research was conducted
The research was prepared by the Rocket Tech team. The focus is on how people actually behave in Kazakhstan's leading banking apps and where their journey breaks down.
The research is based on an analysis of in-depth interviews with Kazakhstanis of different ages, genders, and levels of experience with financial technologies.
The analysis is built on identifying current product blockers (UX gaps, infrastructure issues, trust barriers) and forming practical recommendations to improve the user experience in both financial and non-financial services.
Key audience segments
For a deeper understanding of the user experience, all respondents were divided into 5 key cohorts, each with its own logic for interacting with money and boundaries of trust in technology:
-
Normies: Basic users whose choices are often dictated by inertia and habit. They value simplicity, a clear interface, and want results without extra clicks.
-
Pragmatists: The most satisfied segment. Rational users whose choices are based on calculation (cashbacks, benefits, speed). They expect price transparency and a seamless customer journey from ecosystems.
-
Old-schoolers: A conservative audience that is slow to adopt new technologies (e.g., AI or complex investments). They value reliability, familiar mechanics, and quality guarantees (e.g., fresh groceries upon delivery).
-
Financially literate: Advanced users who already feel constrained by standard banking charts. They demand cross-bank aggregation, complex analytical tools, and are ready to trust AI assistants, but are currently forced to keep records in spreadsheets.
-
The Burned: A segment with total distrust of banking ecosystems due to past failures, account blocks, or bad refund experiences. They fear "digital slavery," hidden fees, and categorically reject the integration of personal data (medicine, government services).
Key research findings
-
Payments acquire, delivery retains. QR and transfers are why the app is installed, but food and grocery delivery is what makes users open it every day.
-
From "what was spent" to "what to do next". Simple spending charts are no longer needed — users expect forward-looking tips from analytics and AI assistants: where to save and what to be warned about in advance.
-
Online is responsible for offline. As soon as a bank sells tickets, tours, and goods, it also becomes responsible for offline problems — a canceled flight, a returned item, a late courier. Without partnerships and logistics, these scenarios break trust.
-
Government services are the peak of trust. A bank that reliably connects the client with the state (documents, payments, certificates) gains the most loyal audience. But a single synchronization failure triggers data fears.
Research verticals
Below are all the research materials, broken down by the key product verticals of fintech ecosystems:
| Material topic | Essence and focus |
|---|---|
| Seamless payments and transfers | How P2P transfers and QR payments determine the choice of the primary banking app and why payments are the entry point to a super app. |
| Food delivery and e-grocery | Why delivery services are becoming the core of super apps and a driver of DAU (Daily Active Users), despite logistical challenges. |
| Transport and micromobility | Integration of transport scenarios (MaaS) and barriers when paying for transit, renting scooters, and carsharing. |
| Installments (BNPL) and e-commerce | How built-in banking marketplaces have changed shopping culture and what refund problems users face. |
| Entertainment and lifestyle | Monetizing free time, buying tickets, and creating emotional value through social features like bill splitting. |
| Personal Finance Management (PFM) | The evolution of PFM services: why manual tracking doesn't work and why a shift to proactive AI assistants is needed. |
| Travel-tech in fintech | How banks are replacing tour operators through bonuses and travel installments, and why 24/7 chat support is important. |
| Digitalization of government services (GovTech) | Integration with government databases (eGov) as a powerful driver of audience loyalty and ways to combat system failures. |
| Retail investments | Democratization of brokerage services, financial literacy issues, and gamification of investments for beginners. |
| Kids' fintech | Apps for first money: balancing strict parental control with an engaging gamified experience for the child. |
| HealthTech and telemedicine | Integrating pharmacies, clinics, and medical profiles into a single customer journey within the banking app. |
| AI and personalization | The role of artificial intelligence as an invisible proactive assistant capable of solving non-standard tasks. |
Frequently asked questions
What is the main driver of super app usage in Kazakhstan?
Payment functionality (QR, P2P) is the basic entry point, but food and grocery delivery is what makes users open the app every day.
What is the main problem with non-financial services in banks?
Most often, users face a gap between a convenient banking interface and the actual customer experience (problems with couriers, flight cancellations, unavailability of needed medications, refund failures).
Why do banks turn into aggregators of government services and tickets?
Integrating lifestyle services, government services, and transport allows ecosystems to monetize users' free time, accumulate data about their interests, and increase loyalty by acting as an indispensable everyday assistant.