Evergreen guide · Updated 20 July 2026
A short map of the unified QR: how a single QR code at the checkout works with any bank's app, who operates the system and why it is changing the payment market.
The unified QR is the showcase of the Interbank Mobile Payments System: an infrastructure that lets you pay for purchases by QR code through any bank's app and transfer money by phone number between banks. From 19 July 2026, connecting to the system became mandatory for banks.
Previously, one bank's QR code could not be read by another bank's app: ecosystems were closed, and there were several terminals at the checkout. The unified QR removes this barrier — the shopper scans the merchant's QR code with their own bank's app and confirms the payment.
Technically, a reference-based QR with a unique payment identifier is used: on scanning, the customer receives the details and amount from their bank and confirms the operation in the app — this protects against data substitution, while the banks' anti-fraud monitoring runs on top.
The system was launched by the National Bank of Kazakhstan, and its operator is JSC "National Payment Corporation of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan". It is the corporation that provides the interbank infrastructure to which second-tier banks connect.
The legal framework took shape in 2026: the law on banks' mandatory joining of the centralised mobile payments system was published in January 2026, and the National Bank approved the rules for the system's operation by a separate resolution. From 19 July 2026, banks' participation became mandatory, and businesses were required to ensure the possibility of cashless payment.
The reform grew out of a dispute over market concentration: the regulator pointed out that the two largest ecosystems — Kaspi and Halyk — control most cashless payments, and that the market needs shared rather than closed infrastructure.
The rollout was phased. In the autumn of 2025 the first banks connected to the interbank QR; by the end of the year their number had grown to roughly six, and the largest players, including Halyk and Kaspi, completed the transition by the mandatory date of 19 July 2026.
For businesses, the main thing is that they can accept payment from customers of any bank through a single tool, without paying for several terminals or choosing whose ecosystem to support. Banks cite the level of payment-acceptance fees as one of the arguments for competition.
For the shopper, the choice of app stops depending on whose terminal is at the checkout: you can pay from your usual banking app anywhere, and transfer money by phone number between different banks.
The unified QR dilutes the advantage of closed ecosystems and opens space for competition from smaller banks and new services. At the same time, analysts warn that a noticeable redistribution of shares is not an instant process and will unfold over several years.
The key risks and points of attention are tariff policy, the resilience and security of the shared infrastructure, and whether the large ecosystems will retain customer loyalty through services layered on top of payments.
No. It is interbank infrastructure, not a new app. You pay and transfer money from your usual bank's app, it simply now works with the QR codes and terminals of other banks.
The operator of the Interbank Mobile Payments System is JSC "National Payment Corporation of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan". The initiator of the reform is the National Bank of Kazakhstan.
From 19 July 2026, connecting to the system became mandatory for banks, and businesses are required to ensure the possibility of cashless payment. Before that, the system operated in a phased-connection mode for participants.
To abolish the "war of terminals" and reduce the market concentration where most cashless payments went to the largest ecosystems. A shared QR makes the payment infrastructure interoperable and open to competition.