The National Bank of Kazakhstan and global payments giant Visa have signed a memorandum of understanding on digital financial cooperation, marking the first agreement concluded under the framework of the upcoming C5+1 Leaders’ Summit and Business Conference in Washington.
The memorandum, signed by Deputy Chairman Akylzhan Baimagambetov and Visa’s Senior Vice President Robert Thomson, aims to strengthen Kazakhstan’s digital finance ecosystem, expand payment technologies, and enhance cybersecurity and fraud prevention.
Baimagambetov said the partnership would include creating a competence centre at the National Payment Corporation to test innovative solutions and promote biometric identification in banking.
Thomson called the deal a milestone in advancing Kazakhstan’s digital transformation. «Kazakhstan is a regional leader in digital payments,» he said. «Through this collaboration, we aim to accelerate innovation and support the country’s vision to become one of Central Asia’s top digital economies.»
The agreement comes as leaders from the C5+1 platform, the United States and five Central Asian nations, prepare to meet on Nov. 6 to mark the forum’s 10th anniversary and discuss future cooperation in trade, investment, and innovation.
