Kazakhstan shows interest in exchange of payment experience with Azerbaijan

Kazakhstan intends to exchange experience with Azerbaijan on the Know Your Customer (E-KYC) system.

Report informs that this was stated by Yuliya Salekhova, Deputy Chairperson of the Association of Payment Organizations of Kazakhstan, at Baku Fintech Forum 2025.

"I would like not only banks but also payment service providers to become part of the E-KYC system. I feel a bit disappointed when I see that this system is not fully operational in Kazakhstan. I hope that in the future we will be able to share this experience with Azerbaijan mutually," Yuliya Salekhova emphasized.

She also spoke about Kazakhstan's "sandbox" experience: "Our 'sandbox' system was supposed to provide an opportunity to test various solutions. Currently, both open banking and the 'sandbox' system are not operating at full capacity. There are objective reasons for this. The main issue is that our regulator, especially the National Bank, shows serious commitment to development and improvement. But every transformation requires time and is very difficult, especially when the market is not fully ready."

According to Yuliya Salekhova, the "sandbox" allowed them to test technological solutions: "But more importantly, it gave us the opportunity to test business models, because it has never been just about technology. The 'sandbox' was a kind of regulated and controlled experience.

The good part is that all tests were conducted under strict supervision, with a limited number of operations and customers. The bad part is that due to these limitations, it was not possible to assess the impact on the global market. But the most important thing is that market participants got the opportunity to express their opinions. Regulators were able to see market demands, customer reactions, and how rules should evolve. It created an opportunity to show what gaps exist and which ones should be eliminated, because excessive regulation restricts development."

Noting that some open banking services are currently operating in the Kazakhstan market, Yulia Salekhova stated that the main problem in this direction is related to market readiness: "Motivation is very important. We shouldn't forget this. Large banks have their own infrastructure, and this infrastructure can sometimes work better than global open banking solutions in the country. They are not interested in joining this open banking system.

For small players, this system is a chance to gain new customers and develop their products. But for large players, it creates competition they don't want. For this reason, although there are several services currently available, the largest banks do not participate and the system cannot operate at full scale. At the same time, small players, such as payment organizations, have not yet been involved in the system. And large players don't want small players to gain advantages they didn't have before."

"Thus, we can say that the Kazakhstan market is developing and positive steps are being taken, but there are still many areas that need improvement," Yuliya Salekhova added.