BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, July 29. The total number of bank payment cards in circulation in Kyrgyzstan reached 5.813 million as of March 31, which is an increase of 44.9 percent compared to the same period last year, Trend reports.
According to the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan, the national payment system "Elkart" had 3.2 million cards. International systems, such as Visa, had 2.4 million cards, Mastercard – 53,000, Zolotaya Korona – 95,000, and Union Pay International – 26,000.
During the first quarter of the current year, the highest share of card transactions was recorded in the capital Bishkek, accounting for 48.6 percent of the total transaction volume.
Conversely, the lowest figure was observed in the Talas region, making up only 3.4 percent of the total transactions.
Overall, 42.5 million card transactions were conducted in Kyrgyzstan during the first quarter of 2023, which is 62 percent more than in the same period of 2022.
The overall transaction value amounted to approximately 172 billion soms ($1.9 billion), which is an increase of 74.6 percent compared to the same period last year.