More Kazakhs Choosing Cashless Payments
How to make QR payments and why it's worth learning
Banking technology is becoming more developed in Kazakhstan, and cashless payments in particular. According to the Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan, card payments overtook cash payments in transaction volume for the first time this September. It appears that Kazakhs are gradually choosing cashless payments over traditional cash.
"Making payments with NFC technology requires additional hardware, namely, POS terminals with contactless capabilities. In this sense QR payments are more practical, since they require only a smartphone with the Homebank app. Customers simply open the app, scan the QR code displayed by the seller, enter the payment amount and confirm the payment. The seller instantly receives an SMS notification about funds transferred into his or her card account,” says Gulsum Dushatova, Director of Transaction Business at Halyk Bank.
Hayk Bank’s payment services are based on VISA Scan & Pay technology and accept QR payments made by Halyk Bank/Qazkom cardholders. They are convenient to use, and not just in traditional payment scenarios. Thanks to a joint venture with Halyk Bank that implements contactless payment technology, residents of several cities in Kazakhstan are able to pay for public transportation via QR code.
In September 2018, Halyk Bank embarked on a joint project with the local government of Nur-Sultan and Astana Light Rail entitled “Alternative Cashless Payment Methods on Public Transportation” and successfully implemented QR technologies that could be used by commuters. By doing so, Kazakhstan indisputably gained the lead over countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union to become the first country to implement QR payments on public transportation. Passengers who possess a Halyk Bank payment card and use the Homebank app now have an alternative to transportation cards when they pay for their commute.
The technology behind the project was relatively simple: posters were put up on the windows of every bus in Nur-Sultan with a QR code, the bus number, and instructions for payment. To pay for their journey, passengers must open the Homebank app on their smartphone, activate the Scan & Pay button, and scan the QR code. Then they select the card used for the payment, enter their mobile phone number, confirm their payment and receive an SMS with their ticket, which may be shown to the bus driver or conductor. The cashless fare on public transportation in the capital city is half the price of the cash fare.
QR payments on public transportation have been successfully implemented in five Kazakh cities: Nur-Sultan (TOO Astana LRT), Aktoba (TOO PATP), Petropavlovsk (TOO Avrora-TransServis, TOO Petropavlovsk NORD, IP Kopylova A.A.), Shymkent (TOO T-BUS) and Kyzylorda (TOO Kyzylorda Bus Park). QR payments have proved to be a popular service in the regions where they have been implemented. More than 218,000 passengers have used Halyk Bank’s QR services on public transportation from the launch of the project to the beginning of November.
For passengers who do not have Halyk Bank payment cards, an alternative method is available: they can scan Halyk Bank QR codes with apps of partner companies, which include SMS Bus, My Beeline, Kcell/Active, Senim, and Qy By.
"It is noteworthy that both passengers and transportation companies who are using Halyk Bank’s QR services for the first time are aware of their advantages. The passengers enjoy the convenience and freedom from cash and payment cards, and the transportation companies benefit first of all from payment transparency, also from using additional features available with the payment method. For example, a carrier can receive daily updates on the amount of passengers using a specific route or on a particular bus, and adjust the bus schedule accordingly at certain congested hours of the day. There are many other ways of using data,” says Gulsim Dushatova.
Previously, it was reported that the e-Government portal started providing services that could be paid for by QR code, based on the Visa QR payment platform. This payment service was developed by AO NIT jointly with Hayk Bank.
AO People’s Bank of Kazakhstan, or Halyk Bank, is the largest commercial bank in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the leading bank according to basic bank criteria and successfully operating on the market for more than 95 years. The bank is a part of the Halyk Group, a group of banks offering its clients a wide range of services, including banking, insurance, leasing, broking services and assets management, and cash-in-transit. The bank also operates in Russia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and until recently, Uzbekistan. The bank ranks Ba1 on Moody’s rating scale and BB by Standard & Poor.
Source: Kursiv
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