Abdulhamid Hamid Al-Kba

The largest banks in Kazakhstan have come to dominate one of the most active digital consumer finance markets in Central Asia. The result, however, is that the space available for independent startups trying to compete directly with consumers has grown narrower. This is pushing the next phase of the sector’s growth toward open banking, embedded finance, and shared financial infrastructure. The findings of the new report point to this shift, and the picture is not black and white. Bank concentration has enabled rapid expansion and brought digital financial services to a wide segment of the population, yet at the same time it has reduced opportunities for independent competition.

The report titled “Kazakhstan Fintech Exhibition 2026” was presented at the Central Asia Fintech Summit in Almaty. It was prepared by RISE Research & Advisory in partnership with Tarlan Payments, BCC Hub, and the Fintech Center, with support from the National Bank of Kazakhstan. This is the third annual national study of this market. The figures are clear: just five banks account for around 69% of the sector’s assets. Three major applications have also emerged as core platforms for daily services, combining payments, lending, e-commerce, travel, transport, and even government services into a single ecosystem. Banks are expanding the same model to small businesses, covering, according to the report, 16 out of 19 basic needs—from company registration and account opening to payments, credit, payroll, and accounting. This dominance has left limited room for independent consumer-facing fintech companies, many of which have shifted toward infrastructure models and open banking.

Funding reveals another side of the market. Startups raised about $72 million in venture capital between 2021 and 2025. But the numbers fell sharply after peaking at $32 million in 2023. In 2024 they reached $19 million, and in 2025 they did not exceed $8 million. Most deals remain in the early stages. Capital is shifting more toward B2B and financial infrastructure rather than direct consumer models. The market is reshaping its priorities from within, not simply through the headline figures.

That is why Kazakhstan is working to reshape the structure of its financial market. It combines regulatory reforms with shared digital infrastructure that connects banks, startups, and consumers more closely. There is a unified QR payment system, phone-number transfers, the digital tenge, digital identity, and a national anti-fraud center. These tools may lower barriers to entry, but they also place companies under stronger compliance requirements. During 2025 the country carried out the largest financial regulatory overhaul in three decades. According to National Bank Deputy Governor Binur Zhalenov, the changes include a new banking law, a digital code, and an artificial intelligence law, alongside the launch of an interbank unified QR system, phone-number transfers, full-scale circulation of the digital tenge, and a national regulatory framework for digital assets operating alongside the jurisdiction of the Astana International Financial Centre. He added that Kazakhstan has become the only jurisdiction in the region managing the full set of digital financial infrastructure: a central bank digital currency, instant payments, open banking, and a regulated digital asset market—all within a single framework.

Consumer behavior has also changed. The share of non-cash payments reached 88% during the period covered by the report, compared with 67% in 2019. QR payments are advancing quickly: their share rose from 14% in 2023 to 28% in 2025, and their volume reached about $17 billion in the first five months of 2026. On 19 July the unified QR systems and phone-number transfers came into effect across all retail banks.

Kazakhstan is also building open API infrastructure that allows banks and technology companies to exchange data more easily. This development is likely to change the basis of competition. As payment systems become more standardized, proprietary systems lose their ability to differentiate, and the focus shifts to product quality, customer experience, data capabilities, and value-added services. The ability to interact seamlessly between systems is no longer a competitive advantage in itself. Customers should be able to transfer money or make payments regardless of which bank they use. Institutions should compete where real value is created: experience, products, pricing, and innovation. The same applies to trust. When services become instant, data-driven, and interconnected, security issues can no longer be handled at the level of individual institutions alone. Fraud prevention, digital identity, cybersecurity, and operational resilience must operate at the level of the entire ecosystem.

Banking-as-a-Service is also emerging as a distinct segment. It allows fintech companies and others to offer financial products using a partner bank’s licensed infrastructure instead of building the entire operation from scratch. At least four banks are now opening their infrastructure and processing capabilities to external companies, enabling the launch of new digital products, including specialized banks. This model has proven successful in markets such as Southeast Asia and Korea. Although Kazakhstan’s market is smaller in scale, the trend remains promising and has room to scale.

The digital asset market is also moving from an experimental phase to a more established position. Platforms licensed by the Astana International Financial Centre processed $10.6 billion in transactions in 2025, while the total number of regulated digital asset service providers across both regulatory frameworks exceeds 50. Stablecoins, real-world asset tokens, and crypto payments have begun moving from regulatory sandboxes into commercial use. Tokenization may be the next growth area, as it opens Kazakh assets to broader pools of global capital. In September 2026 the government adopted a plan of 65 measures to expand the regulated digital asset market and announced the first tokenization projects.

In the end, the large banks led the first wave efficiently and reached people quickly. The next wave is being built on shared infrastructure, regulatory reforms, Banking-as-a-Service, and digital assets. The important question now is whether Kazakhstan can turn this highly concentrated market structure into a more open competitive environment. For healthy continued growth, startups need room to contribute, infrastructure needs to remain accessible, and competition needs to shift toward the areas where real value is created.


Abdulhamid Hamid Al-Kba- Opinion writer specializing in Central Asia and Azerbaijan affairs