Kazakhstan’s Digital Tenge Trial Success Spurs Upgrades in 2024

• The digital tenge included facilitating cross-border payments via SWIFT.
• The agencies are also hoping to conduct large-scale offline transactions.

Following a month-long trial experiment, the digital tenge, the CBDC of Kazakhstan, has been deemed a success. In 2024, it is scheduled to get a slew of upgrades in the areas of business, regulations, and technology.

Almaty pupils were given free meals during the experimental run of the digital tenge program using the local Onay card, which was first developed for use in the transit system. To facilitate these exchanges, the Kazpost postal system operator acted as middleman.

In partnership with Visa and Mastercard, four regional banks distributed plastic cards to focus group participants. Customers may use the cards to shop in-store or online and get cash from ATMs. The participating merchant might have chosen to convert digital tenge to “non-cash” tenge or take them as-is.

Enhancing Financial Inclusion

They were able to be incorporated into pre-existing point-of-sale and QR systems by converting digital tenge. The cards work all throughout the world, not just in Kazakhstan. According to the research, this degree of compatibility was unprecedented for a CBDC.

In addition to issuing stablecoins backed by CBDC on the Binance and KASE platforms, other trials with the digital tenge included facilitating cross-border payments via SWIFT. Tokenizing gold with digital tenges, collecting value-added tax via a smart contract, and testing a move-to-earn app were all part of the study.

An expansion of intermediary banks and the continued development of decentralized finance applications are among the many objectives set for 2024 by the National Bank of Kazakhstan and the National Payment Corporation of Kazakhstan (NPCK), an entity formed in September to manage the national CBDC.

Since internet availability is restricted in certain places, the agencies are hoping to conduct large-scale offline transactions. This would greatly enhance financial inclusion in the nation.

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