National Bank of Kazakhstan, VEON and KaR-Tel agree on payment services development
ASTANA. Sept 11 (Interfax) - The National Bank of Kazakhstan, VEON Group and its subsidiary KaR-Tel, which operates under the Beeline brand in Kazakhstan, have signed a memorandum of cooperation on developing payment services and national payment infrastructure, the regulator said.
"The document provides for exploring whether VEON Group companies can obtain a first-category payment organization license, as well as cooperation on improving payment services and rolling out modern digital payment services," it said.
The National Bank said earlier that first-category payment organizations will gain direct access to payment and financial infrastructure, allowing them to perform certain banking operations tied to payments, operate independently of banks and compete across the full range of payment services.
Previously, payment organizations were limited in their access to payment infrastructure, providing services to individuals and businesses through banks.
First-category payment organizations will be able to open current accounts exclusively for legal entities, conduct transfer operations, connect to National Bank payment systems and issue electronic money. Such activities are carried out under a National Bank license.
According to the National Bank, Kazakhstan has developed payment infrastructure, with more than 90% of retail payments now cashless.
The national digital financial infrastructure combines the digital tenge, an anti-fraud center, interbank payment services, biometric identification and other solutions.
In 2026, the interbank mobile payment system - covering phone number transfers and QR payments - became a new part of the infrastructure. Since its July 19 launch, it has handled 20 million transactions worth about 400 billion tenge.
KaR-Tel (Beeline) provides a wide range of services, including mobile and fixed-line telephony, international and long-distance communications, data transmission, wireless internet access, fiber-optic access, Wi-Fi and others. The operator has 11.8 million subscribers in Kazakhstan. VEON holds a controlling stake in Beeline Kazakhstan.
VEON, originally VimpelCom Ltd., was formed in 2010 when Alfa Group and Norwegian holding Telenor merged Russian VimpelCom and Ukrainian Kyivstar into a holding company. The group later added assets in Pakistan, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
