ASTANA – Kazakhstan will launch its nationwide Interbank Mobile Payment System (IMPS) on July 19, enabling customers to make instant transfers by phone number and QR-code payments between participating banks. The National Bank presented the latest progress in implementing the National Digital Financial Infrastructure (NDFI) on July 17, highlighting the rollout of the Interbank Mobile Payment System and its key services.
Under the system, customers of participating banks will be able to instantly transfer money to clients of other banks using only a phone number and pay for goods and services via a single interoperable QR code, regardless of where the buyer and merchant are banked.
Transactions will be processed in real time, 24 hours a day. All banks offering retail mobile banking services have already connected to the platform. The system will also allow businesses to accept cashless payments from customers of all participating banks through a single QR code without installing new equipment.
The services will be available through existing payment terminals, while individual banks will provide updates to their mobile applications. The National Digital Financial Infrastructure also includes the National Payment System, biometric identification, the digital tenge platform, open banking services and the National Anti-Fraud Center.
The National Payment System currently processes around 6.3 trillion tenge (US$13.3 billion) in transactions daily. More than 340 billion digital tenge (US$720.3 million) have been issued, while the biometric identification platform handles approximately 3.5 million requests each month.
Since its launch, the National Anti-Fraud Center has identified more than 165,000 cases of fraud and other illegal financial activities, including financial pyramid schemes and illegal gambling operations. According to the National Bank, the NDFI projects are designed to improve the accessibility, security and convenience of financial services, strengthen competition and enhance the technological independence of Kazakhstan’s payment infrastructure.