BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. Cross-border
payments are an important area for further growth in Kazakhstan,
Sanzhar Zhamalov, Mastercard’s Country Manager for Kazakhstan and
Central Asia, told Trend.
Zhamalov said that Kazakhstan has made significant progress in
digital payments in recent years and is now one of the most highly
digitalized markets in the region. The country’s payments ecosystem
is becoming increasingly sophisticated and interconnected year by
year.
“We look at this transformation not only through transaction
statistics. Over the past few years, Mastercard, together with its
partners, has conducted a series of studies on the Kazakhstan
market, covering digital payments and fintech, e-commerce, SMEs,
artificial intelligence, tourism, and cybersecurity. In September
this year, we also presented a study on Islamic banking in Central
Asia. This kind of analysis helps us better understand how the
economy is evolving and where new growth opportunities are
emerging,” the country manager said.
Zhamalov noted that e-commerce is one of the clearest examples.
According to Mastercard’s study of Kazakhstan’s retail e-commerce
market, published in September 2026, the market reached 4.92
trillion tenge ($10.92 billion) in 2025, with 363 million online
purchases.
“Importantly, the number of transactions is growing
significantly faster than the average transaction value, indicating
that online shopping is increasingly becoming part of everyday
life. We forecast that by 2030, the market could reach 11.1
trillion tenge ($24.6 billion), with the number of purchases
approaching 1.4 billion,” he said.
Mastercard sees the main areas for further growth in e-commerce
and cross-border trade, the digitalization of small and
medium-sized businesses, the development of new payment
instruments, and greater interoperability between them.
“For a cardholder, it matters less which technological rails a
payment runs on – whether it is a bank card, QR code, instant
payment, digital wallet, or, potentially, tokenized money. What
matters is that the payment is convenient, fast, and secure,” the
country manager said.
Zhamalov added that cross-border payments are another important
area of growth. Kazakhstan is closely connected to Central Asian
countries and other markets through economic ties and the movement
of people. Moving money across borders should therefore become as
simple and seamless as making a domestic payment.
“The next phase of development will also be shaped by AI and new
forms of digital money. We believe different payment technologies
will coexist, and Mastercard’s role is to help connect them while
supporting security, trust, convenience, and a seamless user
experience,” he said.
The US dollar equivalents are calculated by Trend at the exchange rate of
the National Bank of Kazakhstan of 450.62 tenge per $1 as of
October 15, 2026.
