BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 9. Kazakhstan intends to exchange best practices with Azerbaijan on the “Know Your Customer” (E-KYC) system, said Yulia Salehova, Deputy Chair of the Kazakhstan Payment Organizations Association, at the Baku Fintech Forum 2025, Trend reports.
“I would like not only banks but also payment service providers to be part of the ‘Know Your Customer’ (E-KYC) system. I am a bit disappointed that the system is not yet fully operational in Kazakhstan. However, I hope that in the future we will be able to share this experience mutually with Azerbaijan,” Salehova emphasized.
She went on to discuss sandbox practices implemented in Kazakhstan: “We have a sandbox system. It was supposed to allow us to test various solutions. Currently, neither open banking nor the sandbox system is operating at full capacity. There are objective reasons for this. The main point, however, is that our regulator, particularly the National Bank, shows strong commitment to development and improvement. But every transformation takes time, and implementing it is very challenging, especially when the market is not fully ready.”
Salehova noted that the sandbox allowed them to test technological solutions: “But more importantly, it provided an opportunity to test business models, because it has never been only about technology. The sandbox was a kind of regulated and supervised experience.
The positive side is that all tests were conducted under strict control, with a limited number of operations and customers. The downside is that, due to these limitations, it was not possible to evaluate the impact on the global market. But the most important thing is that market participants were able to express their views. Regulators could see market demands, customer reactions, and how rules should evolve. It allowed them to identify gaps and determine which should be addressed, because over-regulation limits development.”
Currently, some open banking services are functioning in Kazakhstan, but Salehova noted that the main challenge is market readiness: “Motivation is very important, and we must not forget that. Large banks have their own infrastructure, which sometimes works better than global open banking solutions in the country. These banks are not interested in joining the open banking system.
For smaller players, this system is an opportunity to gain new customers and develop their products. But for the major players, it creates competition they do not want. Therefore, even though a few services are available, the largest banks do not participate, and the system cannot operate at full scale. At the same time, smaller players, such as payment organizations, have not yet been integrated into the system. Large players do not want smaller players to gain unexpected advantages.”
“In short, we can say that the Kazakhstan market is developing and positive steps are being taken, but there are still many areas that need improvement,” Salehova added.