Mastercard Volumes Climb 33.6% In Kazakhstan’s Cashless Shift

Hey Payments Fanatic!

Mastercard is seeing strong momentum in Kazakhstan’s shift away from cash.

In January 2026 alone, 33.38 million cashless transactions were processed through the network. That is up 33.6% compared with January 2025.

The value reached 795.1 billion tenge in local currency. Roughly $1.59 billion.

Zooming out, the broader payments ecosystem shows the same trajectory. Kazakhstan processed 1.05 billion cashless transactions across all systems in January.

Cards are also expanding. 85.06 million payment cards were in circulation as of February 2026. Up from 83.6 million a year earlier.

I’ve been watching Mastercard deepen its footprint across emerging payment ecosystems. Just recently, I wrote about its partnership with Barq to expand digital payments in Saudi Arabia.

You can read that story here 👉: barq Partners with Mastercard to Elevate Digital Payments in Saudi Arabia.

Different markets. Same structural trend.

And this trend is building across global payments. Scroll down 👇 I’ll show you a few more stories below.

Cheers,

Marcel

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NEWS

🇰🇿 MasterCard's cashless transaction volume in Kazakhstan rises. MasterCard's cashless transactions in Kazakhstan grew significantly in January 2026, reaching 33.38 million transactions, a 33.6% increase from January 2025. The total value of these transactions reached 795.1 billion tenge ($1.596 billion), marking a 14.13% increase year-over-year.

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GOLDEN NUGGET

Here is a beginner-friendly guide to 𝗕𝘂𝘆 𝗡𝗼𝘄, 𝗣𝗮𝘆 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 👇

Let's dive in:

► 𝗕𝘂𝘆 𝗡𝗼𝘄, 𝗣𝗮𝘆 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 (𝗕𝗡𝗣𝗟) is a type of short-term loan that lets shoppers pay for products in small installments spread over a set period; typically used for minor but expensive purchases like smartphones or luxury clothing.

► Number of global BNPL users in 2025: ~360 million 🤯

❌ 𝗕𝗡𝗣𝗟 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁:

- Traditional credit cards

- Promotional installments

- Long-term installment options (only if as a value-add)

- Rent-to-own

𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗮𝘆 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:

► Pay-in-Full Programs (Pay in 30): Require full payment within a set timeframe (usually 30 days).

► Short-Term Installment Plans: Include popular options like "Pay in 3" or "Pay in 4," dividing payments equally over 6 to 12 weeks, interest-free if paid on schedule.

𝗕𝗡𝗣𝗟 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀:

1️⃣ Consumers: Get goods instantly, pay over time.

2️⃣ Merchants (e.g., Walmart): Paid in full by BNPL provider within 1–3 days.

3️⃣ BNPL providers: Focus solely on originating and servicing BNPL loans.

4️⃣ Sponsor banks (e.g., WebBank): Provide critical infrastructure by onboarding BNPL providers and holding deposits.

5️⃣ Technology infrastructure:

▪️Payment gateways (e.g., Stripe) facilitate payment processing and enable merchant integration of BNPL solutions.

▪️Pay Later orchestrators (e.g., Splitit) provide application programming interfaces (API) and other software solutions.

6️⃣ Underwriting/servicing firms: Provide tech for credit checks, underwriting, and servicing.

𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗺?

► BNPL providers act as an intermediary between the consumer and the bank.

► Most pure-play BNPLs source funding from sponsor banks, allowing the provider to extend credit to end users.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗕𝗡𝗣𝗟𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗻𝘀:

✔️ Usually interest-free.

✔️ Often cheaper than traditional financing.

✔️ Offered by BNPL firms, not banks.

✔️ Report to credit bureaus mainly on defaults, unlike banks’ regular reporting.

✔️ Rarely use debt collectors; providers often absorb losses.

✔️ Lightly or partially regulated in many areas.

✔️ Make money mainly from merchant and consumer fees, not interest.

𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗡𝗣𝗟 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁:

► Global leaders: Klarna, Affirm, Afterpay, Sezzle, Zip Co, PayPal Credit

► Local BNPL players:

✔️ Paidy in Japan 🇯🇵

✔️ Alma and Riverty in Belgium 🇧🇪

✔️ ViaBill in Denmark 🇩🇰

✔️ Tabby | تابي, Tamara, Postpay in the Middle East 🌍

✔️ Atome in Southeast Asia 🌏

Source/more info: Solidgate

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