Central Asia Fintech Summit 2026: Shaping the Future of Finance

The third annual Central Asia Fintech Summit (CAFS) 2026 took place at the Tselinny Center of Contemporary Art in Almaty. Held under the theme “The Era of Trust: Shaping the Financial Market of the Next Decade,” the summit brought together over 4,000 participants—representatives of financial and technology companies, regulators, government agencies, and the expert community. Experts from more than 15 countries took part in the summit.

Opening the event, Timur Suleimenov, Chairman of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan, congratulated the summit organizer—the National Payment Corporation (NPC) of the NBRK—on its 30th anniversary, noting its contribution to the development of the cashless economy, payment sovereignty, and the country’s financial industry.

In his speech, Timur Suleimenov outlined the next stage of development for Kazakhstan’s financial market. Digital technologies are changing its architecture, creating conditions for the emergence of new participants, instruments, and settlement methods. Alongside this, the role of the regulator is also changing—it is required to act proactively, support innovation and competition, while simultaneously ensuring the reliability of and trust in the financial system.

One of the key takeaways was that the basic digital infrastructure and necessary regulation in Kazakhstan have already been formed. The next stage is the practical use of these capabilities to create new products, partnerships, and business models.

New Financial Market Architecture

One of the central themes of CAFS 2026 was the new architecture of Kazakhstan’s payment market. Starting October 2026, regulations regarding first-category payment organizations—a new type of regulated participant—will come into force. They will operate under a license from the National Bank and will be able to combine the provision of payment services with certain types of banking operations.

The entry of new participants should create conditions for increased competition, lower transaction costs, and the emergence of new financial products. Market participants, including global players, are already showing interest in the new institution.

Digital Financial Infrastructure in Action

Today, the main components of the National Digital Financial Infrastructure are operating in Kazakhstan, combining interbank payments, the digital tenge, biometrics, and tools to protect citizens and businesses from financial fraud.

One of the key achievements of 2026 was the launch of the Interbank Mobile Payments System. Since its launch on July 19, more than 20 million transactions totaling about 400 billion tenge have been processed via phone number transfers and Unified QR.

The development of the digital tenge continues, being phased into the digital ecosystem of public finances. In 2026–2027, digital tenge turnover is expected to reach 2 trillion tenge.

Another area of development has become the digital asset market. Currently, 34 projects are being implemented in the regulatory sandbox, including solutions in tokenization, stablecoins, crypto payments, and custodial services. $700 million has already been allocated to the National Crypto Reserve. Jointly with the Alatau administration, preparations are underway to launch Crypto City with flexible regulation for projects in the field of digital assets, payments, and the tokenized economy.

Special attention at the summit was paid to artificial intelligence and its practical application in the financial system. AI-based solutions are already used in anti-fraud, currency control, and financial monitoring. In particular, the AI analyst of the National Antifraud Center accelerates the investigation of fraudulent schemes by up to 80 times.

Security as the Foundation of Trust

One of the highlights of the program was the National Antifraud Awards 2026 ceremony, dedicated to the results of joint work between financial organizations and law enforcement agencies in countering financial fraud.

Today, the National Antifraud Center brings together over 270 participants. As of September 1, 2026, fraudulent transactions totaling 127 billion tenge were prevented thanks to its work. Awards were received by financial institutions and police units that demonstrated results in the return of stolen funds, cooperation in the fight against fraud, development of financial literacy, and improvement of the National Antifraud Center.

New Partnerships

A practical continuation of the discussions at CAFS 2026 was new agreements reached between market participants. Memorandums were signed during the summit between the National Bank and Tether, as well as VEON, aimed at developing cooperation and working out new projects in the financial and technological markets of Kazakhstan.

A separate agreement on the development of cross-border payment services was concluded between the NPC of the NBRK and the National Interbank Processing Center JSC of the Republic of Uzbekistan—the operator of the HUMO payment system.

The parties plan to develop mutual acquiring of national QR codes and cross-border transfers between users of the two countries via habitual mobile banking applications.

As Zhanar Samayeva, Chairperson of the Management Board of the National Payment Corporation JSC, noted, the main task of the partnership is to create technological conditions under which payment services will be user-friendly, secure, and compatible at the level of national infrastructures.

From Infrastructure to New Products

An important part of CAFS 2026 was the support of new technological solutions. The summit summed up the results of the Fintech Stars Battle—a pitch session for fintech startups whose projects were evaluated by representatives of banks, venture funds, and tech companies.

The winner of the Fintech Stars Battle 2026 was the SHART RATE project—a digital platform for secure online transactions. The project received the opportunity to attract investments of up to $100,000 from White Hill Capital under a SAFE contract.

Another strategic direction outlined at CAFS 2026 was the development of exports for Kazakhstan’s financial industry. This refers both to the entry of domestic companies into foreign markets and to the attraction of global players who will be able to use Kazakhstan’s jurisdiction and infrastructure to work with international clients.

The Central Asia Fintech Summit 2026 demonstrated the transition of Kazakhstan’s financial market to the next stage of development: the basic digital infrastructure and regulatory environment have been formed, and the key task is their practical use—for the emergence of new participants and products, the development of technologies, international partnerships, and new business models.