E-commerce turnover in Kazakhstan in 2025 exceeded 2.3 trillion tenge according to the Competition and Development Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and in Uzbekistan the number of digital wallet users exceeded 15 million according to the Central Bank estimates. Against this backdrop, fintech companies in the region are accelerating their expansion and launching new digital payment and BNPL services. Businesses have to restructure their IT infrastructure within a few months to avoid losing market share.

A new wave of competition has begun in the fintech and e-commerce market in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, the UAE, and Turkey: local players are strengthening their ecosystems, while international payment systems are increasing their presence. At the same time, cashless payments, BNPL services, cross-border trade, and B2B payment solutions are growing in the region. For IT directors, this means urgent modernization of payment gateways, anti-fraud, and marketplace integrations. Companies like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) are already seeing an increase in requests for payment system integration projects and cloud migration from banks and large retailers.

Fintech and digital payments in Kazakhstan: Kaspi, Halyk, Jusan

Kazakhstan remains one of the most dynamic fintech markets in the region. According to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, the share of cashless payments in retail turnover exceeded 80 percent in 2025, while in 2019 it was around 40 percent. The key drivers are super apps Kaspi.kz, Halyk Homebank, and Jusan, through which users pay for utilities, taxes, fines, e-commerce purchases, and P2P transfers. Kaspi.kz alone reported more than 13 million active app users and double-digit growth in transactional business in 2025.

In parallel, the QR payment and tap-to-phone market is growing. The National Payment Corporation of Kazakhstan is actively promoting a unified QR, and banks are integrating it into all mobile applications. This reduces the costs of acquiring for small businesses and accelerates the turnover of funds: according to market participants, the commission for QR acquiring for small and medium businesses is on average 20–30 percent lower than for classic POS acquiring. In 2025, more than 300 fintech companies were registered in the country, many of which operate in the B2B payment solutions and anti-fraud segments.

For corporate clients, this means the need to adapt to a variety of payment channels: cards, QR, installment plans, BNPL, direct bank transfers. Integrating all these options into an online store, mobile applications, and ERP requires competencies that are often not available within the company. Therefore, companies like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) are increasingly acting as integrators between banks, payment gateways, and businesses, implementing multi-dimensional payment routing schemes, backup gateways, and 24/7 SLA monitoring. For an average online store, a delay of 2–3 seconds during payment already leads to a noticeable increase in declines.

An additional challenge is related to regulation and security. Kazakhstan has recently increased requirements for the protection of personal data and payment information, aligning with PCI DSS and ISO 27001 standards. Banks and fintech startups are forced to invest in encryption, tokenization, and machine learning-based fraud detection systems. To implement such solutions, businesses need to combine local data centers and cloud platforms, as well as build a resilient architecture. Here, IT partners who can design hybrid infrastructures and conduct security audits without stopping operational activities come to the fore.

Uzbekistan and Georgia: Payme, Click, TBC and the growth of online banking

Uzbekistan has become one of the fastest-growing digital payment markets in Central Asia over the past five years. According to the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, the number of active bank plastic cards exceeded 30 million, and the number of remote banking users exceeded 20 million. Key local players – Payme, Click, Apelsin – are actively competing for the audience, offering payment for services, P2P transfers, QR payments, and installment plans in online stores. On many marketplaces, up to 70 percent of orders are already paid through electronic wallets and bank applications.

In Georgia, the growth point has become the mobile banks of large universal players – TBC Bank, Bank of Georgia, Liberty Bank. According to the National Bank of Georgia, the share of cashless payments in the retail sector exceeded 60 percent, and the number of internet and mobile transactions is growing at double-digit rates year over year. TBC is actively developing its digital platform, promoting online loans, P2P transfers, and e-commerce integration. Against this backdrop, banks are investing in API platforms to connect merchants under the open banking model and provide them with payment services and scoring as a service.

For IT directors of banks and large retailers in Uzbekistan and Georgia, the key issue has become scalability. The sharp increase in the user base and transactions makes outdated monolithic systems a bottleneck. More and more projects are related to the transition to microservices architecture, containerization (Kubernetes, Docker), and the implementation of real-time monitoring and logging systems. Companies like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) can act as technology partners for regional banks, helping to deploy resilient clusters and integrate them with local payment gateways and government services.

Another trend is regulatory stimulation of digitalization. Uzbekistan has recently simplified the requirements for opening online accounts and remote identification, developing the ID card and biometrics system. In Georgia, legislation in the field of electronic trust services and digital signatures continues to develop. For businesses, this opens up the possibility of full online: from customer identification to signing loan agreements and accounting documents. However, such a solution requires high-quality integration with government systems and high IT security maturity, which again increases the demand for professional IT outsourcing.

Azerbaijan, Turkey, and the UAE: regional expansion of e-commerce

Azerbaijan is actively catching up with neighboring markets in terms of digital payments. The National Bank of Azerbaijan is recording a steady growth in cashless transactions, and the number of POS terminals and QR points in retail is increasing annually. Local payment systems and mobile wallets are developing, and large banks are integrating with international payment services. E-commerce is getting an additional boost from cross-border orders from Turkey and the Persian Gulf countries, which requires local logistics and IT companies to build reliable integrations with foreign marketplaces and payment providers.

Turkey remains one of the largest e-commerce markets in the region with significant turnover and a high share of online payments. Large platforms Trendyol, Hepsiburada, n11.com continued to invest in their own fintech services, loyalty programs, and customer lending. Interestingly, many Turkish retailers have started working more actively with Central Asian markets through local partnerships and cross-border delivery. For Kazakhstani and Uzbek companies, this creates both competition and opportunities: by integrating with Turkish marketplaces, local brands gain access to a multi-million audience.

The UAE acts as a regional hub for fintech startups and international payment companies. Dubai and Abu Dhabi have free economic zones with relaxed fintech regulations, such as the Dubai International Financial Centre. Many startups in the field of BNPL, crypto payments, B2B payments, and remittances are registered there, and then enter the markets of Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Turkey through partnerships with local banks and integrators. This increases competition for corporate clients and encourages businesses to update their payment stacks and CRM systems.

For companies from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and neighboring countries, working with partners from Azerbaijan, Turkey, and the UAE means the need to build complex infrastructures: multiple payment providers, different currencies, local KYC/AML requirements, integration with foreign ERP and logistics systems. Such projects are rarely implemented by internal IT forces alone. Here, players like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) are in demand, capable of ensuring integration with external APIs, configuring data exchange in near real-time, and guaranteeing SLAs at 99.9 percent and above.

Technological infrastructure of fintech: clouds, APIs, and security

The rapid growth of payments and e-commerce in all the mentioned countries requires not only marketing investments but also deep modernization of the technological infrastructure. Banks and fintech startups are actively moving to an API-oriented architecture to speed up integrations with merchants and partners. The use of REST and gRPC APIs, as well as standardized authentication protocols like OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect, is becoming a de facto standard. For businesses, this means the ability to quickly connect new payment providers and test different commission models without rewriting the core code.

Cloud technologies are becoming a key tool for scaling. Large players in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, the UAE, and Turkey combine local data centers with international clouds to comply with regulatory requirements for storing resident data and simultaneously use modern analytics and machine learning services. For medium-sized companies, this is usually not a choice between on-prem and cloud, but a search for a competent balance. Companies like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) help design hybrid architectures where critical data remains in local data centers, and load or analytical services are moved to the cloud.

Security and compliance remain a central theme. Almost all banks and large fintechs in the region are oriented towards PCI DSS for working with payment cards and ISO 27001 for information security management. This requires the implementation of WAF, DLP, SIEM, regular pentests, and code audits. The cost of a single comprehensive project to increase IT security for an average bank can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the potential losses from leaks and system downtime are much higher. Implementing DevSecOps practices and automating security testing helps reduce the risk of errors during rapid releases.

Interest in AI-based solutions is growing primarily in the field of anti-fraud and scoring. Banks use ML models to analyze transactional activity and detect suspicious operations in real-time. This reduces the share of fraudulent transactions and simultaneously reduces the number of false blocks, which directly affects the revenue of e-commerce and fintech services. However, for successful implementation, high-quality data, streaming processing infrastructure, and teams capable of maintaining models in production are needed. Here, the role of external IT partners is especially important: they help build a data lake, organize the MLOps process, and integrate models with existing payment gateways and mobile applications.

What this means for businesses in Central Asia: strategies and the role of Alashed IT

For businesses in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, and neighboring countries, what is happening in fintech and e-commerce is not abstract news, but a direct call to action. The consumer is already accustomed to instant payments, convenient mobile applications, installment plans, and BNPL, personalized offers in online stores. Companies that do not keep up with this level of service lose the customer even before they enter the office or website. Practice shows that even a 1–2 percent deterioration in conversion at the payment stage can mean tens of millions of tenge in lost revenue per year for an average retailer.

The first step for many companies is to audit their existing IT and payment infrastructure. It is important to understand how ready the current systems are for integration with several payment providers, support for different currencies, cross-border operations, and high peak loads, for example, during promotions and sales. Companies like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) conduct such audits, offer roadmaps for modernization, and take on implementation: from integrating bank and payment gateway APIs to setting up monitoring and failover.

The second key element of the strategy is building resilience and security. Businesses need to set RTO and RPO at the level of several minutes, not hours, ensure backup of critical systems and communication channels, and protect customer data in accordance with national legislation and industry standards. For many companies, a transition to a partial or full IT outsourcing model, where an external team is responsible for 24/7 monitoring, updates, and incident response, makes sense. This allows focusing internal resources on the product and customer experience.

Finally, it is important to look ahead and plan the development of new services: loyalty programs, personalized offers, omnichannel customer service, integration of offline and online sales. This requires not only developers but also business analysts, architects, and data specialists. Forming such a team within one company is difficult and expensive, especially in the conditions of IT staff shortage in the region. Partnering with technology integrators like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) helps accelerate the launch of new features and enter new markets without a critical increase in fixed costs.

Что это значит для Казахстана

For Kazakhstan and Central Asia, the current wave of fintech and e-commerce development has direct economic significance. In Kazakhstan, the share of e-commerce in total retail turnover already exceeds 15 percent, and government agencies aim to increase it to 20 percent in the medium term. In Uzbekistan, digital payments and online banking have become a key tool for financial inclusion: millions of citizens have gained access to financial services without the need to visit a bank branch. This creates new opportunities for SMEs, which can sell goods and services online throughout the country and beyond.

At the same time, competition is growing from regional players from Turkey, Azerbaijan, and the UAE, who are entering the market through marketplaces, partner programs, and fintech services. For Kazakhstani and Uzbek companies, this means the need for accelerated digitalization and improved customer experience. Integration with international payment systems, ensuring transaction security, and complying with regulatory requirements in Kazakhstan and other countries in the region require complex IT infrastructure.

This is where local integrators and outsourcing companies, such as Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz), gain importance. They understand the specifics of national regulators, data storage requirements, and the peculiarities of working with local banks and payment providers. For businesses in Central Asia, cooperation with such partners is becoming not just a matter of convenience, but a factor of sustainable growth amid increasing regional competition.

The share of cashless payments in retail turnover in Kazakhstan exceeded 80 percent in 2025, which sharply increased the demand for the modernization of payment and IT infrastructure.

The fintech and e-commerce markets in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, the UAE, and Turkey have entered a phase of mature but still rapid growth. The competition for customers is shifting to the technological plane: the speed and reliability of payments, the convenience of mobile applications, personalization, and security. It is no longer enough for businesses to simply connect acquiring or launch an online store; a comprehensive architecture with flexible integration, backup, and analytics is required. Partnership with technology integrators and outsourcing companies, such as Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz), is becoming a key condition for survival and scaling at the regional level.

Часто задаваемые вопросы

How much does it cost to integrate online payments for an online store in Kazakhstan?

For a small online store with integration with one or two payment providers, basic integration can cost from $500 to $3,000 depending on the complexity of the CMS and security requirements. For a medium-sized business with several regions, currencies, and payment methods, the budget often starts from $10,000 and above. If anti-fraud, analytics, and resilience are connected, the project cost can reach $30,000–$50,000. Companies like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) usually offer a phased approach, allowing costs to be spread over 6–12 months.

When does a business in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan need a fintech partner, not just a bank?

A fintech partner is needed when a business needs more than standard acquiring: multi-currency payments, cross-border sales, BNPL, integration with marketplaces and mobile applications. Already at a monthly turnover of 50–100 million tenge, the inefficiency or downtime of payments begins to significantly affect revenue. A fintech partner and IT integrator are also required if the company plans to enter the markets of Uzbekistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, or the UAE and faces different regulations. Such tasks are usually solved in a combination: a bank as a financial provider and an integrator like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) as a technology partner.

What risks does the rapid growth of digital payments pose for businesses?

The main risks are related to fraud, data leaks, system downtime, and non-compliance with regulatory requirements. With online turnover growing by 2–3 times a year, companies often face overloads of monolithic systems, increased response times, and failures during peak loads. The damage from several hours of payment downtime in a large e-commerce can amount to tens of millions of tenge. To reduce risks, businesses need to invest in anti-fraud, resilient architecture, backup communication channels, and regular security audits with the involvement of external IT companies, such as Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz).

How long does it take to launch a full-fledged e-commerce platform with online payments?

For a small store on a ready-made CMS with the connection of one payment provider, a basic launch is possible in 2–4 weeks. For a medium-sized retailer with a catalog of tens of thousands of SKUs, ERP integration, and several payment methods, the actual time frame is 3–6 months. Large projects with an omnichannel architecture, loyalty program, mobile application, and complex analytics can take 9–12 months. Companies like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) help shorten the timeline with ready-made integration modules and proven implementation processes.

How can businesses in Kazakhstan and Central Asia save on the development of fintech and e-commerce infrastructure?

Savings are achieved through phased implementation and the right choice of partners. Instead of developing everything from scratch, you can use ready-made SaaS platforms, cloud services, and integration modules from banks and technology partners. According to market experience, competent architecture planning and the use of clouds can reduce capital expenditures by 30–40 percent compared to a fully owned data center and development. Optimizing operational expenses is also important: transferring support, monitoring, and part of the development to an outsource company like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) provides savings of up to 20–30 percent of the internal IT team's budget with a comparable level of service.

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