General information

Population

7.2M

Online population

5.4M

Currency

KGS

Market overview

Population - [7.2M](https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/kyrgyzstan-population/#:~:text=The current population of Kyrgyzstan,7%2C186%2C009 people at mid year.)

At the start of 2024, 38% of Kyrgyzstan’s population lived in urban centres, while 62% lived in rural areas.

Internet penetration - 79.8%

There were 5.4M internet users in Kyrgyzstan at the start of 2024

FinTech Outlook: Trends, Insight & Technology

Currently, over 50 FinTech companies are active in the Kyrgyz market. Key segments include digital payments and remittances, lending, personal finance tools, crowdfunding platforms, and emerging areas like AI financial assistance services, open banking, and cryptocurrency services.

Elsom

One prominent player in the digital payment space is Elsom, a mobile payment system launched by the country's largest mobile operator, MegaCom (MEGA), in 2014. Elsom boasts over 1M registered users and processes more than 100K transactions daily. Elsom collaborates with various financial institutions. For example, Finca Bank provides the Finca Elsom mobile app, which enables customers to conduct immediate transactions, such as domestic and international money transfers, loan repayments, deposit top-ups, and account settlements with Finca Bank.

**Pay24**

Pay24 is another major player in the Kyrgyz FinTech industry. The company operates under two licenses issued by the NBRK and has been in operation since 2014. Pay24 provides access to 1.5K services for payment, with 17 partner banks processing payments through their platform. The company has 4.3K automated payment terminals and 7K payment acceptance points, resulting in approximately 150K transactions being processed daily.

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There are 20 FinTech startups in Kyrgyzstan including Horizontal Systems, ELSOM, Namba One, and FinBook.

Kyrgyzstan’s startup ecosystems show substantial potential. The country has a strategic location, with access to both the market of the Eurasian Economic Union and China’s ambitious One Belt-One Road initiative. Kyrgyzstan is aiming for digital transformation, with initiatives supported by the UNDP and the Ministry of Digital Development. The national innovation support system has made some progress but requires more initiatives. The Kyrgyz Government is executing a program called Sanarip Kyrgyzstan (Digital Kyrgyzstan) that aims to build an open and transparent country with a knowledge-based economy, improving the overall business environment.

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The document on the digital transformation strategy for the Kyrgyz Republic from 2024 to 2028 outlines several FinTech and payments-related initiatives aimed at advancing digitalization in financial services. Here are some key points:

1. Integration of Financial Services: The strategy highlights a move towards a seamless integration of state information systems with private sector systems, allowing businesses to access and use state-provided data to enhance their services. This integration supports new financial products, including fintech solutions that leverage public data to streamline service offerings to customers.
2. Promotion of Digital Payments: The government plans to foster a robust digital payment infrastructure, including non-cash transfers for social payments. This initiative enables citizens to receive payments directly into bank accounts, reducing cash dependency and increasing transparency in fund distribution.
3. Support for New Digital Financial Services: By enabling private companies to develop new integrated services using government data, the strategy encourages the growth of innovative financial services such as electronic payment solutions, online marketplaces, and other fintech products that can address local needs.

The Financial Regulatory Commission (FRC) of Mongolia has signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic on February 27, 2024. According to Bayarsaikhan Dembereldash, Chair of the Financial Regulatory Commission, this agreement will involve cooperation to support Kyrgyz FinTech companies and exchange information on cross-border financial operations.

Banks