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In Kazakhstan, the number of QR payments in the first half of 2026 was 38% higher than the number of card payments at retail terminals. QR payments also led by 13% in value. Smartphones are increasingly replacing cards at checkout (inbusiness.kz).
What happened
Over the six months, people in Kazakhstan made 7.1 billion cashless transactions worth 92.1 trillion tenge. That is an average of more than 39 million transactions, or 509 billion tenge, a day. Compared with the first half of 2025, the number of transactions rose by 5.1%, while their value increased by 4.2%.
Payments made online, through mobile banking apps and using QR codes accounted for 90% of the total value of cashless transactions. Meanwhile, the number of cash withdrawals fell by 5.8%, and their value dropped by 3.8%.
What this means for shoppers and businesses
A unified interbank QR payment system launched nationwide on July 19, 2026. Customers of participating banks can pay for goods and services regardless of which bank the seller uses. Previously, paying with a particular bank’s QR code usually required the shopper to use that bank’s app.
Businesses can use a single QR code instead of separate codes for different banks. No additional equipment is needed. The system also supports transfers between customers of different banks using a phone number.
Banking apps let people pay for goods and services and transfer money without visiting a branch. In 2024, online and mobile banking accounted for 90.3% of the total value of cashless transactions. These services have become part of Kazakhstan’s cashless economy.
How payment habits have changed
Back in 2016, cashless card transactions totalled 1.5 trillion tenge, while cash withdrawals amounted to 9 trillion tenge. By 2019, cashless transactions had taken the lead in number. Cash withdrawals still led in value: 16.3 trillion tenge versus 14 trillion tenge.
In 2020, cashless transactions overtook cash withdrawals in value as well: 35.3 trillion tenge versus 16.6 trillion tenge. During the pandemic, people in Kazakhstan made greater use of online stores, delivery services and banking apps. The number of active mobile and online banking users grew by 82% over the year to 14 million.
By 2024, cashless payments accounted for 98.1% of all card transactions and 86.6% of their total value. Over the year, people in Kazakhstan made 12.9 billion cashless card transactions worth 166.2 trillion tenge.
