Kazakhstan officially launches its digital currency

Kazakhstan’s head of the National Payment Corporation, Binur Zhalenov, made the first transaction in the digital tenge during Kazakhstan’s 11th Congress of Financiers in Almaty.

The National Bank of Kazakhstan tested the digital tenge platform with second-tier banks and their customers. The platform allows bank customers to utilize the digital tenge by creating a digital account via the operating bank’s mobile app.

As part of the Congress, the National Bank initially issued digital tenge to participating banks’ digital accounts, which then issued digital tenge to their clients’ accounts.

The digital tenge combines the benefits of cash and non-cash money, offering new options for targeted social payments, boosting the efficiency of government purchases, optimizing cross-border payments, and enabling programmed payments. The digital tenge’s three-phase deployment is projected to be finished by the end of 2025.

“In addition to cash and non-cash money, the digital tenge is the third form of the national currency. It unlocks the potential of blockchain technology to generate innovative financial services, assures targeted and efficient public expenditure, and bridges the gap between traditional finance and the world of digital assets,” Zhalenov said.

“Today’s introduction of the digital tenge marked the beginning of the development of its ecosystem, and Kazakhstanis will soon be able to enjoy the first items based on the digital tenge,” he added.

The participating banks, in collaboration with international payment systems, issued digital cards, allowing their holders to make payments and transfers in the digital tenge to persons and legal entities in the customary manner due to the banks’ seamless interaction with their current payment infrastructure.