Kazakhstan to launch three payment services in 2027

Kazakhstan will add three interbank payment services in 2027: Request to Pay, in-app marketplace checkout and static QR. The rollout builds on a system that processed more than 8 million transactions worth 210 billion tenge in its first month of operation.

National Bank Deputy Chairman Binur Jalenov said in a Kazinform interview that all banks have been connected to the Interbank Mobile Payment System since 19 July. Customers can transfer money by phone number and pay through a unified QR code at any bank’s terminal, with no charge to the buyer.

The National Bank reported those figures in its review of payment-services development for the first half of 2026. “This was the base on which we are now gradually expanding the functionality,” Jalenov said.

What changes for shoppers and merchants?

The three services have already been technically implemented, according to Jalenov. The remaining work is bank-by-bank connection and debugging of business processes on their side. The regulator still targets a 2027 launch.

• Request to Pay. A merchant or private individual sends an invoice to a customer of another bank. The recipient sees it in their banking app and confirms payment with one tap, without dictating payment details or forwarding screenshots. “It is convenient, for example, for paying for services, rent or orders in social networks,” Jalenov said.
• Online stores and marketplaces. A shopper chooses the interbank mobile payment option, moves automatically to their bank app and confirms the payment. Shoppers do not have to enter card details at checkout.
• Static QR. The code appears as a sticker. A customer scans it, enters the amount and pays. Jalenov identified parking facilities, data centers, public transport and small sellers as suitable locations where no point-of-sale terminal is available.

For merchants, the practical split is clear. Static QR covers acceptance points without a terminal; the online-store service covers marketplace checkout without manual card entry; Request to Pay handles invoices. All three sit on a system already connected to every bank.

That matters for implementation: banks still need to test the processes on their side before customers see the new options.

For buyers, the change is fewer steps and fewer details to pass around. A payer opens the banking app, checks the invoice and confirms. A shopper at a marketplace redirects from checkout to the bank app and confirms there. A QR sticker replaces the need for a terminal at the payment point.

What does cross-border access change?

The National Bank also wants to organize interaction between the Interbank Mobile Payment System and similar payment systems in eight countries: the UAE, China, Kyrgyzstan, India, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Indonesia.

The intended result is that Kazakhstanis can pay for purchases abroad through their usual banking app by scanning a merchant’s QR code. Foreign visitors should have the same option in Kazakhstan, using their own banking apps.

For overseas sellers serving Kazakh consumers, the links could keep the familiar banking-app payment flow at checkout. For travelers, they could remove the need to adapt to a separate local checkout. The announcement sets 2027 for the three domestic services but gives no launch schedule for the eight country links.