National Bank of Kazakhstan moves to regulate buy-now-pay-later market

September 11, 2026 at 08:05 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

The National Bank of Kazakhstan has published a discussion document on regulating the buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) market. The regulator is collecting proposals from market participants and experts until November 3. The initiative aims to protect consumers from hidden interest charges in installment purchases.

Key Facts

Kazakhstan's household debt exceeded 26 trillion tenge this year, with 17 trillion tenge spent on consumer purposes.
The National Bank of Kazakhstan published a discussion document on BNPL market regulation and will accept proposals until November 3.
Financial expert Perizat Bauyrzhankyzy said a 200,000 tenge installment purchase can include 40,000 tenge in hidden interest.
BNPL services are offered not only by banks and microfinance organizations but also by private companies with no regulatory requirements.

Regulatory Initiative

The National Bank of Kazakhstan has published a discussion document on the buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) market. Nurbulat Sakhiyev, representative of the National Bank's press service, said specific requirements and mechanisms will be refined during public discussion. The regulator is collecting proposals from industry specialists and experts until November 3. The initiative is aimed at open discussion to find a common and effective solution with other regulators and market participants.

Consumer Debt Burden

Household debt in Kazakhstan exceeded 26 trillion tenge this year. Of this amount, 17 trillion tenge was spent by Kazakhstanis on consumer purposes rather than housing, business, or production development. Financial expert Perizat Bauyrzhankyzy said installment purchases are reaching record levels and are not free money. She gave an example: buying an item for 200,000 tenge can include 40,000 tenge in interest that is not disclosed but added to the payment.

Market Participants

BNPL services are now offered not only by banks and microfinance organizations but also by private companies. There are no requirements for these entrepreneurs, and the markup added to goods is unknown. The National Bank aims to bring this market into a unified framework and regulate it. The discussion document is not intended to stop installment purchases but to protect people from unmanageable debt.