BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 26. Mastercard aims to develop cybersecurity solutions in Kazakhstan, Rafal Trepka, CEO of Mastercard in Central Asia, told Trend.
"The use of biometrics for identity verification is already working in many countries and, as far as I know, is perceived positively in Kazakhstan: according to our research, 30 percent of respondents in Kazakhstan fully support it," he said.
As he noted, Kazakhstan strives to become the leader of Central Asia in digitalization of all spheres of life, including the development of the digital economy and fintech.
"Thanks to synergy between the government and the private sector, the country has seen explosive growth in cashless payments in recent years. In 2022, the volume of non-cash card transactions in the country amounted to 102.8 trillion tenge or 99 percent of GDP. Against this background, the share of non-cash transactions across the country increased to 82.5 percent. Thus, Kazakhstan can already be called a cashless country. In large cities - Almaty or Astana, people almost no longer use cash. Technologies such as contactless payment, Tap on Phone, digital wallets have become commonplace in Kazakhstan and part of the daily lives of millions of people. Many of them may even feel inconvenience when they have to pay in cash somewhere. In this regard, the role of Mastercard as an international technological player in the development and implementation of these solutions in the country is recognized by all market participants, our colleagues and partners," Trepka said.
The Regional CEO pointed out that on a daily basis, Mastercard helps key partners, banks to develop multi-rail consumer solutions.
"The world is developing rapidly, new customer segments are constantly being formed. Banks strive to provide them with additional options for transferring money and payments to suit their changing demands and needs. And we help them provide these solutions by offering flexible configuration of payment methods and transfers, including cross-border transfers," he said.
Trepka noted that in the long term, Mastercard is looking at Web 3.0 and focused on payments and products across the country and interaction with government agencies to implement them.
"We are talking about an instant payment system, digital tenge and open banking. Our goal is to "land" these services in Kazakhstan in cooperation with the National Bank and second-tier banks. If we talk about specific solutions, firstly, for our cardholders there is Digital First or Digital Only technology, which implies a complete refusal to use plastic cards, with the replacement of these cards with a tokenized card in a smartphone. For those who still need a card, we, together with banks, issue cards made of biodegradable plastic. As you know, Mastercard has committed to eliminating plastic cards by 2028. There are also specially shaped cards for those who have poor vision, the so-called Touch Card, which, for example, we issued jointly with the Kazakh bank "Altyn," he noted.
According to the Regional CEO, in Kazakhstan, there is now a very large field of activity and many areas where it is possible to implement both financial and non-financial solutions from Mastercard.
"We actively help to develop the country's economy and its people because we are building a sustainable world where everyone can prosper. So we don't intend to stop," Trepka said.