Obtain a banking license in Kazakhstan

Get a banking license in Kazakhstan if they arrange to authentically acknowledge reserves into store accounts, oversee settlement and cash exchanges, give credit assets, take an interest in the working of worldwide installment frameworks, whereas giving a wide extent of budgetary administrations to both household and cross-border corporate clients. The authorizing administration gives a detailed lawful supervision component pointed at complying with money related solidity guidelines, anticipating AML/CTF dangers, and ensuring the interface of contributors and other budgetary advertise participants.

The Republic of Kazakhstan is characterized by steady macro opulent markers, a favorable and competitive assess administration, adjusted, powerfully creating enactment pointed at fortifying enterprise and imaginative advancement. As a practicing attorney specializing in supporting universal venture ventures, I have over and over gotten to be persuaded of the extraordinary significance of having a solid, efficient and straightforward administrative system that guarantees viable legitimate security of the interface of trade substances and ensures conformance with commitments in universal financial relations.

In the article, I clarify the lawful and administrative strategies administering the handle of getting a banking license in Kazakhstan, and I clarify in detail the necessities for the bundle of archives, counting both standard corporate and budgetary data and particular affirmation of conformance with the necessities of monetary observing and anti-corruption enactment. In expansion, I depict the key highlights of the legitimate administration of keeping money exercises, counting prerequisites for capital, corporate administration, and conformance with the controls of the National Bank.

Why Kazakhstan is attractive for banking business

The address of how to enroll in a bank in Kazakhstan is a subject of significant interest from universal speculators and budgetary administrators who turn to me as a specialized specialist with competencies in the field of money related and banking license law. This method opens vital to one of the most fluid, powerfully creating budgetary markets of Central Asia, which makes a difference to fortify belief and pull in capital from distinctive countries.

The nation has an approach that empowers the deluge of unused members in the budgetary segment and ensures rise to openings for both nearby and remote speculators. This makes a favorable environment for those arranging to get a banking license in Kazakhstan and in this way create cross-border trade. The specialists prioritize guaranteeing the straightforwardness of money related streams, conformance with universal measures and best conformance practices.

Strategic position

The Republic involves a key position on the Eurasian landmass, acting as a travel center connecting the financial spaces of the East and West. This interesting area makes a favorable environment for trade substances applying for a banking license in Kazakhstan, giving them openings for enhancement and extension of operations in the markets of Central Asia, China, and the European Financial Range. Authorized monetary teachers have the opportunity to actualize universal ventures related to cross-border installments and settlements, make unions with remote accomplices, and give detailed budgetary administrations, fulfilling the necessities of clients working in different jurisdictions.

Modern legislation

The Kazakh keeping money segment is characterized by a reasonably tall level of straightforwardness. The government is actualizing detailed programs to modernize the budgetary segment, counting on the digitalization of managing account administrations and creating non-cash installments. The National Support of Kazakhstan and different state budgets educate that back ventures in the banking license and money related segments play a critical role.

Growing shopper demand

In the setting of the watched socio-opulent advance, characterized by an unfaltering advancement in the number and dissolvability of the center lesson, as well as a change in the national standard of living, there is an increment in request for keeping money administrations - contract loaning, speculation items, protections and computerized monetary administrations. The youthful populace of the nation is effectively utilizing modern innovations, which opens up endless openings for the improvement of computerized banking license. Emphasizing that statistical advancement with a prevalence of a youthful, innovatively adroit populace contributes to the arrangement of a favorable environment for the execution and scaling of advanced keeping money stages. This, in turn, makes the prerequisites for growing the scope of inaccessible monetary administrations (computerized banking license), moving forward the lawful system pointed at guaranteeing the security and privacy of information in the setting of digitalization of the money related sector.

Advancement of computerized technologies

The nation is actualizing computerized arrangements in the keeping money segment — from portable banking license to blockchain ventures. Approximately 88% of the populace is well versed in cutting edge advances, leaning toward non-cash installments and effectively utilizing Web and versatile keeping money. Concurring with the Advanced Get to File, Kazakhstan is in 10th place in terms of availability and in 62nd out of 157 nations in terms of the utilization of unused data and communication advances. Banks are able to coordinate imaginative items, growing their client base and expanding commerce productivity. Trades, installment frameworks and other members in the monetary foundation are continually making strides. This permits banks to work in a competitive environment and make inventive products.

Prospects for territorial leadership

Kazakhstan ended up a budgetary center of Central Asia, which opened up openings for banks to extend and pick up a toehold in the creating showcase. Supporting integration and participation activities in the locale reinforces the position of banks in the universal field.

Regulation of banking activities in Kazakhstan

A banking license in Kazakhstan certifies the right of an organization to give budgetary administrations and lock in on exercises related to the keeping money segment. Companies wishing to get a banking license in the Republic of Kazakhstan must be arranged to entirely comply with the controls built up by current laws and supervisory specialists. This incorporates confirmation of budgetary dissolvability, adequate capitalization, accommodation of straightforward and convenient announcing, and taking measures to ensure the rights of depositors.

Fundamental laws administering the control of keeping money exercises in the Republic of Kazakhstan:

• "On banks and managing account exercises" 1995.
• "On the National Bank" 1995.
• "On state direction and supervision of budgetary organizations" 2003.

Obtaining a banking license in Kazakhstan affirms not as it were the legitimateness of operations, but the bank's commitments to controllers and society in things of conformance with all administrative benchmarks. Kazakhstan employs a two-tier keeping money framework. The National Bank acts as the central money related specialist. The moment level is spoken to by banks that work straightforwardly with financial substances.

Official website of the Central Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Concurring to the prerequisites of the Law “On banks and banking license activities”, the taking after operations are allowed as it were if a bank permit is gotten in Kazakhstan:

• Acceptance of reserves on stores, opening and adjusting of bank accounts for people and companies.
• Opening and organization of journalist accounts for money related teach performing specialized managing account operations.
• Creation and support of accounts reflecting the volumes of valuable metals and coins made from them possessed by clients, for both people and corporate entities.
• Cash stream administrations - receipt, issuance, trade, bookkeeping and storage.
• Making installments on orders from private and corporate clients.
• Discounting obligation securities, counting bills of exchange.
• Conducting operations to give borrowed funds.
• Foreign money transformation services.
• Collection of cash, coins, securities.
• Acceptance of archives for collection, but bills of exchange.
• Registration and fulfillment of commitments beneath letters of credit.
• Securing client commitments through the bank ensures cash collateral.

Since the start of 2020, an unused supervisory body has been working in Kazakhstan — the Budgetary Advertise Direction Organization. Its mission is to guarantee the assurance of clients' rights, control budgetary education, back the advancement of the budgetary segment and keep up the solidness of the whole framework. If you need to open a bank in Kazakhstan, you need to get authorization from this Office, which directs the authorizing handle and has the specialist to repudiate licenses from banks and outside branches.

The enactment stipulates that the foundation of banks in Kazakhstan is allowed solely in the frame of joint-stock companies. Proprietors of bank offers may be people or corporate substances, but the confinements on residency stipulated by law must be taken into account. Remote banks have lawful grounds to open branches on the domain of the Republic after they have been issued the suitable allow by the Agency.

A non-resident bank may apply for authorization to open a department in Kazakhstan subject to certain administrative requirements:

• the volume of resources of a remote monetary institution is min. USD 20 billion;
• the state where the bank is enlisted partakes in worldwide participation on AML/CTF issues and participates with the FATF;

There is an understanding between the authorized body of Kazakhstan and the monetary controller of the state of enlistment of the bank.

Types of banking licenses in Kazakhstan

If you are orchestrating to get a banking license in Kazakhstan, you should start with the categories of licenses. They differentiate in the scope of organizations given, in the necessities for the slightest appraise of the authorized capital and the level of authoritative control.

The to start with is a broad banking license in Kazakhstan, which is anticipated for colossal and medium-sized overseeing account organizations. Holders of such a allow have the opportunity to deliver a wide run of cash related organizations, checking working with corporate and private clients, conducting trades on the interbreed promotion, crediting, pulling in stores and other point by point overseeing an account organization. At the same time, banks with a broad allowance are subject to strict and point by point control by the controller, which ensures security and soundness for clients and the national budgetary infrastructure.

To get a banking license in Kazakhstan of this category, the slightest entirety of authorized and esteemed capital is at least 10 billion tenge. Necessities for the slightest esteem capital of a bank are set concurring to the taking after plot:

• for the lodging advancement reserve funds bank - 4 billion tenge;
• for other banks - 10 billion tenge.

This year, it is arranged to present an essential banking license in Kazakhstan, which will encourage the passage of unused members into the showcase. Microfinance organizations from the locales are appearing specifically intrigued in it. This permit will be presented to disentangle the handle of unused players entering the advertisement and to create competition. Not at all like the widespread permit, the essential permit forces limitations on the measure of resources and sorts of exchanges, diminishes the least capital to 10 billion tenge and decreases the prerequisites for hazard administration and supervision. Much obliged to this, favorable conditions are made for the advancement of specialty keeping money ventures that contribute to the bolster and advancement of little businesses at the territorial level.

Requirements for obtaining a banking license in Kazakhstan

I would like to draw the consideration of clients to the reality that the handle of getting a banking license in the Republic of Kazakhstan is related to conformance with strict administrative necessities concerning both the money related solidness of the candidate institution and its corporate structure. In specific, the administrative system requires banks to keep up a tall level of capital ampleness, straightforwardness of corporate administration, conformance of the inner organizational structure with universal guidelines of hazard administration and conformance arrangement. These administrative measures are pointed at minimizing systemic dangers, avoiding monetary manhandle and guaranteeing the long-term dissolvability of keeping money organizations, which eventually contributes to the arrangement of belief from both clients and regulation financial specialists, subsequently fortifying the steadiness of the budgetary segment of Kazakhstan as a whole.

In understanding with the current enactment, at least a sum of authorized capital is built up, which is a preparatory basis for affirmation to authorizing. In order to get a license for a bank in Kazakhstan, the candidate must give capital in the sum of at least ten billion tenge. This prerequisite is pointed at guaranteeing the budgetary soundness and unwavering quality of the future bank. With respect to microfinance organizations, the administrator gives for a separated edge - the least sum of authorized capital for such substances is set at a level underneath the indicated sum, which reflects the specifics and scale of their exercises, as well as the level of budgetary dangers they acknowledge. At the same time, the lawmaker permits for the plausibility of expanding the least capital edge, given that the imminent bank extreme to carry out exercises related with a tall level of operational and credit dangers, or conduct specialized sorts of banking license operations that require improved monetary support.

Particular consideration is paid to the full and straightforward divulgence of the beginning of stores contributed in capital, which serves as a model for anticipating the dangers of legalization of unlawful pay and other budgetary offenses. Disappointment to comply with these prerequisites may result in a refusal to issue a permit for banking license exercises in Kazakhstan or other regulatory and legitimate measures.

Candidates for administration positions in a banking license organization must have the suitable capabilities, affirmed by pertinent proficient competencies, noteworthy involvement in the keeping money segment or other money related education working beneath the supervision of supervisory specialists. An obligatory necessity is an immaculate commerce notoriety, which infers the nonattendance of truths that call into address their astuteness, genuineness and conformance with commerce morals measures. The indicated capability and notoriety criteria are subject to a detailed check amid the Fit & Legitimate conformance evaluation method, pointed at building up the unwavering quality of candidates to involve dependable positions in the keeping money structure.

The normal bundle of archives required to get a permit to conduct keeping money operations in Kazakhstan includes:

• Application shape for a license.
• A duplicate of the lawful entity's charter.
• A trade arranged with a working demonstration for a period of 3-5 a long time, counting methodologies, target group of onlookers, taking a toll budget, chance administration and administration model.
• Identification archives of people who will be named to administration positions.
• CVs of all administrators and recipients, affirming their capabilities and reputation.
• Confirmation of store of authorized capital.
• Proof of installment of the permit charge (changes depending on the sort of activity).

If you are interested in getting a license for banking exercises in Kazakhstan, I would like to draw your consideration, as a master with commonsense encounter in keeping money direction and authorizing, to the requirement to create a detailed, legitimately sound commerce demonstration for a future money related institution. This methodology ought to be based on an evaluation of the asset and administration capabilities of the originators, on affirmed monetary and financial prerequisites reflecting the bank's capacity to work opulentally and successfully from the beginning of operations.

In specific, the submitted trade arrange must contain a point by point investigation and depiction of chance administration instruments, counting credit, operational, showcase and other pertinent dangers, taking into account the prerequisites of the directions of the National Bank of Kazakhstan and other administrative specialists. It is fundamental to guarantee conformance with the prerequisites for the least level of capital and savings, based on the profile of the proposed action. In expansion, the commerce arrange must unveil the structure of the proposed sources of salary and costs with a breakdown of things and legitimization of financial possibility, and illustrate the straightforwardness of the budgetary model.

The permitting prepare in the banking segment of Kazakhstan is based on the standards of openness and conformance with worldwide directions, subsequently interested parties are required to give a depiction of the hazard administration instruments they utilize, the dispersion of duties of the bank's administration bodies showing the capacities doled out to each of them, and a portrayal of the organization of hazard control.

A department of an outside bank arranging to conduct pecuniary exercises in Kazakhstan must experience an authorizing method by submitting a built up list of documents:

• Application shape for a license.
• Confirmation of installment of the required expense for the right to lock in on certain regions of activity.
• Documents recognizing people who will be designated to administration positions in the branch.
• An archive demonstrating the arrangement of saves in agreement with the prerequisites of keeping money enactment.

Stages of obtaining a banking license in Kazakhstan

Control of banking license exercises in Kazakhstan is a need zone of state arrangement, guaranteeing the solidness and unwavering quality of the monetary framework. The method for getting a permit for keeping money exercises in Kazakhstan is characterized by multifaceted nature.

Preparation and accommodation of an application went with by a set of documents

Entrants for a permit to keep money administrations in Kazakhstan, reaching me for specialized lawful exhortation, get nitty gritty data with respect to the procedural subtleties given for by enactment and directions of the National Bank. In the handle of bolster in getting a bank permit in Kazakhstan, my administrations incorporate help in the arrangement, systematization and appropriate execution of a bundle of archives, counting, but not restricted to, a nitty gritty trade arrange with a avocation of vital objectives and progression prospects, monetary figures uncovering the elements of capital, liquidity and dissolvability, data on the extreme advantageous proprietors and originators, the composition of the official and authoritative administration bodies, archives directing inner control and the chance administration system.

Preliminary assessment and examination

The National Bank carries out a nitty gritty examination of the submitted archives, counting, but not restricted to, the taking after stages:

• Conducting an investigation of the money related and extravagant status of participants, counting checking the structure of the authorized and real capital, investigation of liquidity, dissolvability, evaluation of the soundness of the capital base in order to guarantee the steady working of the budgetary organization.
• Conducting a check of the trade notoriety, proficient capabilities and genuineness of key administration and authoritative people, and other people making noteworthy administration choices, in order to dispense with dangers related with unjustifiable commerce hones or incompetence.
• A point by point examination and appraisal of the entrant's trade arrange, carried out from the point of view of extravagant possibility, maintainability of execution, counting an examination of the pay and cost estimate, progression procedures, as well as the conformance of the arranged action with the necessities of banking license control and advertise conditions.
• Verification of inside control frameworks, corporate administration methods and chance administration components pointed at minimizing operational, credit, advertise and other dangers, guaranteeing conformance with administrative and lawful acts and inside measures of the bank.

Decision on giving a license

Based on the point by point examination and examination of the submitted reports, the Board of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan makes a last choice on allowing or denying to allow a keeping money permit. This choice is formalized by means of an official determination, which indicates in detail all the conditions stipulated by law, as well as conceivable confinements and uncommon prerequisites connected to the participant, if necessary.

A banking license in Kazakhstan built up by law is approximately six months. If the controller recognizes lacking or irregularity of the submitted reports, or if there are other procedural blunders, the indicated period is subject to programmed expansion. The length of the strategy depends on the complexity of the corporate structure, the productivity and adequacy of communication with the authorized administrative body.

I give proficient bolster in the preparation of getting banking license licenses in Kazakhstan. With my help, the instrument of interaction with supervisory and control specialists will be optimized, which will essentially increment the effectiveness of thought of the submitted materials and minimize the dangers of authoritative deterrents and refusals.

Obtaining a banking license in the AIFC

The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), created with the aim of forming an international financial hub in Central Asia, offers a favourable environment for banking activities focused on both local and cross-border operations. The bank’s license in the AIFC gives the right to provide the following services:

• Accepting deposits.
• Credit services.
• Consulting or arranging a line of credit.
• Provision of monetary services.
• Opening and maintaining bank accounts.
• Functioning of the payment system.

Obtaining a banking license in AIFC is regulated by specially developed legislation, autonomous in relation to the legal system of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The main regulatory act is the AIFC Law on the regulation of financial services (Financial Services Framework), as well as the Regulation on licensing of banking activities. AIFC operates in the status of a special opulent zone, which entails additional preferences in the form of tax benefits and a simplified registration procedure.

The minimum capital for entrants for a banking license in the Astana MFC is 10 billion tenge. The following licenses can also be obtained in the center and, accordingly, the minimum requirements for their capital are presented below:

• For a sanctioned organization acting as a provider of credit lines, the minimum capital requirement is set at USD 10,000.
• For a sanctioned firm specializing in credit line consulting, the minimum equity capital is set at USD 10,000.
• For a sanctioned firm providing a wide range of financial services, including, but not limited to, intermediary and advisory functions, the authorized capital must be at least USD 200,000.

Taxation of banks in Kazakhstan

In the process of implementing the planned fiscal reform aimed at optimizing the tax and budget policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the draft of the new Tax Code provides for the introduction of a differentiated scale of corporate income tax (CIT) rates. According to the provisions of this draft law, the current basic CIT rate of 20% is retained for the majority of taxpayers engaged in entrepreneurial activity in the country.

In order to increase the fiscal burden on highly profitable sectors of the opulence and ensure a fair distribution of the tax burden, it is proposed to establish an increased CIT rate of 25% for certain categories of taxpayers. In particular, this concerns representatives of the financial and credit sector, including banking organizations, which, in the opinion of the legislator, have a stable financial position and a significant level of profitability.

It should be noted that these changes will come into force only if the draft of the new Tax Code is officially approved in accordance with the procedure established by law. If it is adopted, the new corporate income tax rates will come into force in January 2026 and will apply to tax periods beginning on that date.

If you are planning to obtain a license for a bank in Kazakhstan, focusing your attention on the fact that banks operating in the Republic are obliged to periodically disclose financial statements prepared in strict accordance with international standards (IFRS). The said statements include information on opulent results, structure of assets and liabilities, cash flow, ensuring transparency of their financial and opulent activities. The relevance and reliability of these data are verified by means of an independent audit aimed at identifying significant distortions and risks, which, in turn, strengthens reputational stability and promotes conformance with financial regulation requirements.

Conclusion

Obtaining a banking license in the Republic of Kazakhstan is characterized by legal certainty. The state regulator demonstrates an open position on issues of access to the financial market, and the licensing procedure is regulated by a structured system of requirements. However, the procedure for obtaining a banking license in Kazakhstan requires a competent interpretation of the norms of local legislation and consideration of international standards in the field of financial regulation. The presence of an experienced legal representative is a prerequisite for achieving conformance with the requirements of the licensing authority.

With many years of practical experience, I provide detailed legal support in the process of obtaining a license for a bank in Kazakhstan - from conducting a legal due diligence project to its legalization and launch in accordance with the current financial and legal regulation. Drawing up an application for a banking license with my participation allows you to significantly reduce regulatory and legal risks, maintain full control over the procedure at each of its stages.