Kazakhstan central bank reviews digital tenge pilot successes, next steps

The integer tenge, Kazakhstan’s cardinal slope integer currency (CBDC), has been declared a occurrence following a month-long aviator project. A big of business, regulatory and method improvements are lined up for it successful 2024.

During its aviator run, the integer tenge was utilized to supply schoolchildren with escaped lunches successful Almaty done the section Onay card, which was primitively designed for usage successful the transit system. The Kazpost postal strategy relation served arsenic the intermediary for those transactions.

Plastic cards were issued to members of absorption groups by 4 section banks successful conjunction with Visa and Mastercard. The cards allowed users to marque purchases successful idiosyncratic oregon online and to retreat currency from ATMs. The participating merchant had the enactment of accepting integer tenge oregon converting them to “non-cash” tenge.

A integer tenge card. Source: Islam Yerzhan, LinkedIn

By converting integer tenge, they were integrated into existing point-of-sale and QR systems. The cards were functional passim and extracurricular of Kazakhstan. The study claimed this level of interoperability was a archetypal for a CBDC.

Great follow-up gathering with @Mastercard SVPs Selim Ergoz&Arn Vogels, gathering upon #UNGA78 agreements. Encouraged by the efforts successful the continuous DCP implementation-opening a determination hub successful Almaty, bolstering the integer #tenge, offering SME grooming and different 5 precedence areas pic.twitter.com/cpviSwL7DM

Other experiments conducted with the integer tenge included making cross-border payments via SWIFT and issuance of CBDC-backed stablecoins connected the Binance and KASE platforms. Digital tenges were utilized for tokenizing gold, value-added taxation was collected utilizing a astute contract, and a move-to-earn app was trialed.

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The National Bank of Kazakhstan and the National Payment Corporation of Kazakhstan (NPCK), a assemblage established successful September to administer the nationalist CBDC, person a agelong database of goals for 2024, including expanding the fig of intermediary banks and further processing decentralized concern applications.

The agencies anticipation to transportation retired offline transactions astatine scale, which would dramatically summation fiscal inclusion successful the country, since net connectivity is constricted successful immoderate regions. They volition besides summation information successful cross-border outgo projects. Kazakhstan is an perceiver successful Project mBridge. They besides person regulatory and legislative goals that request to beryllium implemented simultaneously, and they anticipation to summation integer tenge information and processing speed.

NPCK CEO Binur Zhalenov gave assurances successful an interrogation aired connected the eve of the report’s merchandise that the integer tenge would not beryllium utilized for surveillance of users.

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