Kazakhstan's fintech reform will reshape business payments

From October 2026, a large package of amendments takes effect in Kazakhstan that reshapes the legal framework for the digital economy. According to bluescreen, it effectively dismantles the country's long-standing bank-centric financial model. Until now, settlements were tied to second-tier banks, because independent players had no right to open accounts for clients themselves.

A market where every payment runs through banks is easy to predict: one kind of counterparty, one statement format. As that exclusivity ends, companies get new options and, as the source points out, new regulatory risks. The exact conditions are best read in the amendments themselves rather than in retellings.

Before October, list every channel through which money moves in your company: bank accounts, acquiring, payment services, and who reconciles each of them with your books. Ask your lawyer and accountant which provisions affect your payments and your contracts with banks and payment partners. The more sources of money movement you have, the costlier manual posting gets: in 1Cifer the accountant's agent posts bank statements and reads primary documents from a photo.