The Kazakhstan Center for Interbank Settlements has been restructured into the National Payment Corporation (NPC), as announced on Sept. 15.
The NPC will manage the national payment system, which includes services such as interbank clearing, money transfers and digital identification.
The NPC will also work on developing the “digital financial infrastructure” of the country, which involves the launch of the digital tenge by 2025.
The digital tenge is a central bank digital currency (CBDC) that aims to combine traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi) to enhance financial inclusion and support international trade.
The CBDC project started in February 2023 and is currently undergoing a pilot test with real consumers and merchants in a controlled environment.
