Payments/KZ
Kazakhstan
ISO KZ · 3 schemes
Summary
- Kaspi QR dominates with ~80% of payment transactions
- National QR unified system launched November 2025
- 2.1 billion QR transactions in first 8 months of 2024
- 89% digital payment adoption (2024)
- NBK IPS instant payment system (June 2022)
Banking landscape
Central Bank
- Name: National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK)
- Website: https://www.nationalbank.kz/
- Role: Monetary policy, payment systems, open banking
Major Banks (2024)
| Rank | Bank Name | Type | Digital Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kaspi Bank | Digital | Kaspi.kz App |
| 2 | Halyk Bank | Universal | Homebank |
| 3 | Forte Bank | Commercial | Forte App |
| 4 | Bank CenterCredit | Commercial | BCC Mobile |
| 5 | Jusan Bank | Commercial | Jusan App |
Market Structure
- Kaspi.kz: ~80% of payments, 14M monthly users
- Halyk Bank: ~10%+ of payments
- NBK: National Payment Corporation
- Population: 20 million
Payment infrastructure
National Payment Systems
| System | Operator | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| National QR | NPC | Unified QR | Active (Nov 2025) |
| Kaspi QR | Kaspi.kz | Proprietary | Dominant |
| NBK IPS | NBK | Instant payment | Active (2022) |
| Interbank | NBK | Settlement | Active |
Kaspi.kz Dominance
- ~80% of payment transactions
- 14 million monthly users
- 721,000 active sellers (mid-2024)
- Virtually every merchant accepts Kaspi QR
NBK Instant Payment System
- Launched June 2022
- After Kaspi already dominant
- Government instant payment rail
- Interoperability mandate
QR code standards
National QR System (November 2025)
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Launch | November 13, 2025 |
| Operator | National Payment Corporation (NPC) |
| Announced | Central Asia Fintech Summit, Almaty |
| Goal | Unified interbank QR |
National QR Features
- Single QR for all bank apps
- Interoperability mandate
- NPC developed with banks
- Standardized format
Kaspi QR
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Operator | Kaspi.kz |
| Share | ~80% of transactions |
| Users | 14 million monthly |
| Merchants | Universal acceptance |
Kaspi QR Features
- Proprietary system
- Ubiquitous acceptance
- Even smallest bazaars
- Online marketplace integration
2024 QR Statistics
- 2.1 billion transactions (Jan-Aug 2024)
- QR not even tracked separately prior year
- Remarkable adoption growth
Mobile payment apps
| App | Provider | QR | Users |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaspi.kz | Kaspi | Yes | 14M/month |
| Homebank | Halyk | Yes | Large |
| Forte | Forte Bank | Yes | Growing |
| BCC Mobile | CenterCredit | Yes | Active |
| Jusan | Jusan Bank | Yes | Active |
Kaspi.kz Super App
- Payments (QR dominant)
- Banking services
- Marketplace (721K sellers)
- Bill payments
- Travel bookings
Open Banking (October 2024)
- Kaspi opened system to other banks
- Compete with NBK platform
- Strengthen market position
- Customer choice expansion
Schemes
| Scheme | Type | Symbology | Adoption | Technical standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National QR | Unified QR | NPC | New (Nov 2025) | — |
| Kaspi QR | Proprietary | Kaspi | ~80% share | kaspi-qr |
| NBK IPS | Instant | NBK | Active | — |
Sources
- CSIS - Kazakhstan Digital Infrastructure
- Bloomberg - Kaspi QR Opens
- Fintech Times - Kazakhstan Banking
- BusinessWire - Alipay+ Kaspi
- Astana Times - Open Banking
- BNN Bloomberg - Kaspi Competition
- Kursiv Media - One QR Code
- Borgen Project - Kaspi
- Tietoevry - Kaspi Revolution
- Payment Expert - Kazakhstan QR
Full country report
Schemes
Standards
Mentioned · 1