A number of banks in Kazakhstan have recently decided to suspend the issuance of plastic cards to non-residents of the republic. This was reported by Frank Media.
As of January 29, the issuance of cards for foreigners has been halted at Halyk Bank, Eurasian Bank, Nur Bank, and VTB Kazakhstan, a subsidiary of the Russian VTB. The websites of the latter two financial institutions state that the reason is due to technical work.
The press service of VTB announced that the bank's specialists are fine-tuning systems to comply with the new requirements of the local regulator. They promised to resume the issuance of cards to foreign citizens starting in February.
The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of Kazakhstan announced in mid-January that payment cards would be issued to non-residents for a maximum period of 12 months. The maximum number of cards per client at one bank has been reduced to five.
Additionally, banks are required to automate the detection of transactions related to online casinos and cryptocurrency exchanges not registered in the Astana International Financial Centre. The regulator explained this decision as necessary to minimize the risks of using banking services for the illegal drug trade and digital assets.
Later, the agency clarified that the tightening measures would not affect entrepreneurs, investors, and diplomats. Cards issued at the time of the introduction of these measures will continue to operate without restrictions.
Kaspi Bank suspended the issuance of cards to non-residents from January 19 to February 3. Home Credit Bank, which is part of the Czech investment holding PPF, has stopped issuing cards indefinitely. Freedom Bank began issuing cards under new conditions starting January 10.
Previously, Spot reported that experts expect a new surge in "card tourism" from Russia to CIS countries.