Kaspi has announced the launch of Kaspi Pay in Uzbekistan and signed a strategic agreement with local banks to serve hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs. For the Central Asian market, this is the first major export of the Kazakh fintech model beyond the country.

Kazakhstan's largest fintech, Kaspi.kz, has officially confirmed the launch of the Kaspi Pay service in Uzbekistan, starting a pilot focused on SMEs and online sales. The company plans to connect tens of thousands of entrepreneurs within the first year and make mobile payments the primary payment tool. For Kazakhstan, this is a defining moment: the local fintech not only withstands competition but also begins to export technology and business models to neighboring countries. For businesses in the region, this is a signal that cross-border e-commerce and digital payments will grow faster than predicted a year ago.

Kaspi Pay and Fintech Expansion from Kazakhstan

Kaspi.kz, whose capitalization on the London Stock Exchange exceeded $17 billion in 2024, is taking the next step in regional expansion with the launch of Kaspi Pay in Uzbekistan. The company had already announced plans to enter this market in 2023, but now it is a full-fledged launch of a payment ecosystem for small and medium-sized businesses. According to market participants, the initial goal is to connect 50,000 to 100,000 entrepreneurs within the first 12 months, focusing on retail, services, and online sales.

Kaspi Pay in Kazakhstan has become one of the key drivers of cashless payments: by 2023, millions of users made payments through the platform, and the share of Kaspi Pay and Kaspi QR in small retail transactions in major cities approached 60–70 percent. Exporting this model to Uzbekistan means transferring not only the technology but also the approach to digitizing everyday payments. An important signal: if the model proves successful, further steps can be expected in other countries in the region, including Azerbaijan and Georgia, where the SME market is also actively moving online.

For the Kazakh IT market, the Kaspi precedent is particularly important. It confirms that local fintech companies can scale beyond the country, competing with global and regional players. This opens up opportunities for contractors in the development, integration, and maintenance of complex fintech systems: companies like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) are already receiving requests to build payment gateways, antifraud systems, and analytics platforms for payment data within cross-border projects.

The expansion of Kaspi Pay also raises user expectations. In Kazakhstan, customers are accustomed to payments in a few seconds, instant push notifications, and seamless integration with e-commerce. If Kaspi can replicate this experience in Uzbekistan, the pressure on local banks and payment services will increase dramatically: they will have to accelerate digital transformation, implement API platforms, and update mobile applications to retain their audience.

Uzbekistan Market: Fintech, E-commerce, and Digital Payments

Uzbekistan is one of the fastest-growing fintech markets in the region today. The country's population exceeds 36 million, with an average age of about 29, creating a powerful demographic demand for mobile finance and online services. According to the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, the volume of cashless payments in 2023 exceeded 550 trillion soums, equivalent to approximately $45 billion at the average annual exchange rate. Over the past three years, this figure has more than doubled, and the number of active bank cards has exceeded 30 million.

The e-commerce market in Uzbekistan is also booming. According to local analysts, online sales in 2023 reached $2–2.5 billion, showing a 40–50 percent year-over-year growth. The main driver is marketplaces and social commerce, where entrepreneurs sell through Instagram, Telegram, and local platforms. The launch of Kaspi Pay in this environment means increased competition for the payment check: sellers will have another payment acceptance tool, potentially integrated with installment plans, lending, and loyalty programs.

A feature of the Uzbekistan market is the strong role of local payment infrastructures and national card schemes. In this ecosystem, Kaspi Pay must negotiate with local banks and processing centers to ensure mutual settlements and compliance with regulatory requirements. Integration requires API customization, transaction monitoring systems, and KYC procedures under local legislation. This opens up opportunities for IT contractors familiar with the region's regulations—companies like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) can act as integration architects, developing bridges between Kazakh and Uzbek infrastructures.

For businesses in Uzbekistan, the key issue is the cost of accepting payments. Traditional acquiring commissions for SMEs can reach 2–2.5 percent per transaction. If Kaspi Pay offers a lower rate due to scale and technological efficiency, it creates price pressure on current players, forcing them to optimize costs and modernize their platforms. As a result, the end entrepreneur wins, receiving more flexible conditions for working with cashless payments.

How Fintech Players in the Region Are Changing E-commerce and Payments

Over the past five years, the fintech scene in Central Asia and the Caucasus has changed significantly. In Kazakhstan, in addition to Kaspi.kz, Jusan, Halyk, and a number of niche fintech startups working with BNPL, P2P transfers, and SME lending are actively growing. In Georgia, the market is dominated by major banks TBC and Bank of Georgia, which are turning their mobile applications into full-fledged fintech ecosystems with service marketplaces and e-commerce integrations. In Azerbaijan, digital wallets and super apps based on major banking groups are actively developing.

Against this backdrop, Kaspi Pay is becoming not just a payment service but an exported standard of user experience. Customers are accustomed to seeing payments, marketplaces, credits, and P2P transfers in one application. This format is gradually becoming an industry norm for neighboring markets. For example, in Georgia and Azerbaijan, banks and fintech companies are already testing modules for installment payments during online purchases, cashback programs, and personalized offers based on transaction analytics. Such features require complex backend systems, scoring models, and integration with external data providers.

For technology partners, this means growing demand for the development of high-load systems, microservices architecture, and secure APIs. A typical request from a bank or fintech startup today looks like a project to build a payment platform capable of processing hundreds of thousands of transactions per hour, with an SLA of at least 99.95 percent and a response time of less than 300 milliseconds. Such projects are already being implemented in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and the Persian Gulf countries with the participation of local integrators like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz), specializing in backend development, devops, and cybersecurity.

Another trend is the growth of B2B payments and automation of settlements between businesses. If earlier fintech mainly focused on retail customers, now companies are increasingly implementing digital accounts, virtual cards for employees, automated payments to partners, and marketplaces. This creates a demand for connectors to ERP systems, integration with accounting and tax reporting. In these scenarios, fintech becomes an infrastructure for the entire business, not just a convenient mobile application.

UAE and Turkey: Where Investors and Startups from the Region Are Looking

Against the backdrop of Kaspi Pay's expansion into Uzbekistan, it is important to understand where startups and investors from Kazakhstan and Central Asia are generally looking. One of the most attractive destinations today is the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are actively building fintech hubs through structures like DIFC Innovation Hub and Abu Dhabi Global Market, offering startups tax incentives, access to international capital, and clear regulations. In 2023, the total volume of venture investments in UAE startups exceeded $1.2 billion, with a significant portion going to fintech, e-commerce, and logistics.

Turkey, for its part, has become one of the largest e-commerce markets in the region with online sales exceeding $45 billion in 2023. Local players are building large-scale marketplaces and payment platforms, focusing not only on the domestic market but also on exports to the Middle East and Central Asia. For Kazakh and Uzbek startups, these are natural entry points into larger ecosystems where they can test products on a multi-million audience and attract capital.

Investor interest in Central Asia is growing precisely against the backdrop of successful expansion examples, such as Kaspi's entry into Uzbekistan. Funds from the UAE and Turkey are increasingly looking at the region as a new growth market with a population of over 75 million and rapid growth in digital infrastructure. To get into their portfolio, startups need to show not only technology but also real revenue, sustainable unit economics, and a clear scaling strategy. Here, technology partners like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) play a role, helping startups accelerate development, pass security audits, and prepare for investor due diligence.

Fintech companies targeting the UAE and Turkey are increasingly building product architectures with multi-currency, multi-language interfaces, and regulatory requirements of several countries. This affects the technology stack: microservices, containerization, centralized monitoring, and risk management systems become mandatory infrastructure elements. For regional development teams, this is an opportunity to enter global supply chains for digital products.

What Kaspi Pay's Launch in Uzbekistan Means for Businesses in Kazakhstan

For Kazakh entrepreneurs and IT companies, the launch of Kaspi Pay in Uzbekistan is not just news about a neighboring market but a direct signal of a change in the rules of the game. Firstly, competition for talent is intensifying: fintech players, scaling to a new market, will actively recruit developers, data analysts, and cybersecurity specialists from Kazakhstan. Already, salaries for senior developers in fintech projects in the region can reach $5–7 thousand per month, and with the growth of cross-border projects, this level is likely to increase.

Secondly, SMEs have the opportunity to enter a new market through a familiar payment and e-commerce infrastructure. If Kaspi integrates payments and marketplaces with Uzbek sellers, it will be easier for Kazakh companies to launch sales in Uzbekistan using a familiar stack: payment acceptance through Kaspi, cross-border delivery, and partner programs. This can reduce the time to enter a new market from 6–9 months to 2–3 months due to ready-made tools and reduced barriers to entry.

Thirdly, there is growing demand for turnkey IT solutions. Businesses need not just a website or application but a connected system: CRM, integration with Kaspi Pay and other payment gateways, sales analytics, warehouse management, and document workflow automation. Such tasks are rarely solved by a single internal team, so entrepreneurs turn to outsourcing companies like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz), which take on architecture, development, bank integration, and 24/7 support.

Finally, Kaspi's expansion strengthens the trend towards cross-border security standards and regulatory compliance. Businesses in Kazakhstan must consider not only local laws on personal data and payments but also the requirements of neighboring jurisdictions if they work with clients from Uzbekistan, the UAE, or Turkey. This means conducting regular audits, implementing logging, incident monitoring, and backup systems. Companies that start systematically addressing these requirements now will gain a competitive advantage when scaling in the region.

Что это значит для Казахстана

For Kazakhstan, the launch of Kaspi Pay in Uzbekistan is direct confirmation that regional fintech is moving from the stage of local experiments to the phase of large-scale expansion. Together, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan provide more than 50 million potential users of digital payments, and the total volume of cashless transactions in the two countries already exceeds the equivalent of $80–90 billion per year. For businesses, this means that cross-border sales, marketplaces, and digital services can grow at double-digit rates without the need to enter distant markets.

An important aspect is the multiplier effect for the local IT sector. According to analysts, each major fintech project creates dozens of subcontracting contracts for development, integration, testing, and maintenance. In Kazakhstan, this is already being felt by companies like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz), which receive orders not only from local businesses but also as part of regional initiatives. For IT entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, this is a signal: it's time to build products and services aimed at several countries at once, not just one national market.

The volume of cashless payments in Uzbekistan exceeded 550 trillion soums in 2023, and Kaspi Pay aims to connect up to 100,000 Uzbek entrepreneurs in the first year of operation.

The launch of Kaspi Pay in Uzbekistan shows that Central Asian fintech has entered the phase of exporting technologies and business models. For entrepreneurs, this is a chance to enter neighboring markets faster using a familiar payment and e-commerce infrastructure. For IT companies, a growing market for complex integration and product projects opens up, where competencies in high-load systems, cybersecurity, and regulation are in demand. Those who manage to occupy this niche in the next one or two years will be able to establish themselves as key technology partners for the region's fintech ecosystems.

Часто задаваемые вопросы

What is Kaspi Pay and how is it useful for businesses?

Kaspi Pay is a payment service of the Kaspi.kz ecosystem, which allows entrepreneurs to accept cashless payments via QR, cards, and a mobile application. In Kazakhstan, it processes millions of transactions daily, and its share in small retail payments in major cities is estimated at up to 60–70 percent. For businesses, this means a reduction in cash, faster settlements, and access to additional products such as installment plans and customer loans. In Uzbekistan, the service aims to connect tens of thousands of SMEs in the first year of operation.

When should a business from Kazakhstan enter the Uzbekistan market?

The optimal time is when the company already has stable sales and established processes in Kazakhstan, and the share of online customers exceeds 30–40 percent. With the launch of Kaspi Pay in Uzbekistan, the barrier to entry is reduced, as part of the payment and e-commerce infrastructure becomes familiar. On average, preparing to enter a new market takes 3–6 months, including legal, tax, and logistical setup. When working with technology partners like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz), this period can be reduced to 2–3 months due to typical solutions and ready-made integrations.

What are the risks associated with working with fintech services in neighboring countries?

The main risks are related to regulation, data security, and infrastructure stability. Businesses need to consider the requirements of personal data and payment laws in both jurisdictions, as well as possible changes in tariffs and rules for fintech platforms. Technical risks include service outages, integration failures, and cyberattacks, which can lead to losses of hundreds of thousands of dollars in the event of a large volume of transactions. Therefore, it is important to have SLAs with technology providers, backup payment scenarios, and conduct regular security audits with the involvement of specialized IT companies.

How long does it take to implement Kaspi Pay and similar payment solutions?

Connecting a simple retail point to Kaspi Pay or a similar service can take from several hours to 1–2 business days if it involves basic QR payment acceptance. Integration with an online store or marketplace usually takes 1 to 3 weeks, including testing and accounting setup. More complex projects, where payments are linked to ERP, CRM, and warehouse systems, take 1–3 months. When working with experienced integrators, timelines can be reduced by about 20–30 percent due to the use of ready-made modules and templates.

How to save on commission fees when accepting digital payments?

Businesses can reduce commission fees by comparing offers from several fintech and banking providers and choosing tariffs based on average check size and turnover. For turnovers exceeding 10–20 million tenge or equivalent per month, it is often possible to get individual rates below the standard 2–2.5 percent. Integration with modern payment platforms allows for optimizing payment routing and transferring part of the operations to cheaper channels, such as P2P or QR payments. Consulting from companies like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) helps select the architecture and set of providers to reduce overall payment costs by 10–30 percent per year.

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