What do online retail, digital payment and the most frequently said phrase in Kazakhstan have in common?
While I enjoy my life in Kazakhstan similar to the picture, I found some time to briefly introduce you to the most successful company in Kazakhstan, which is listed on the stock exchange in London. 😌
it is not the largest uranium company in the world, which also comes from Kazakhstan, but a digital bank called Kaspi.
Kaspi has understood digitalization!
Since Corona, this company has been one of the main drivers of digitization in Kazakhstan and has emerged as a huge winner of the crisis. They advertise ease of use, speed and reliability. I was able to see this for myself, when I went to open an account, it only took 10 minutes and my Visa debit card was printed on the spot and ready to use. There is no bureaucracy and no costs.
In addition, you have an app that combines Paypal, Amazon and banking all in one. In the app all bills are stored, expenses are tracked and it is even possible to take out a loan within a few minutes. At the same time, I can send money directly to all my contacts and only need the cell phone number. In addition, there is an online store that combines numerous retailers, similar to Amazon.
Caspi QR
restaurants, going to the stadium, shopping at the supermarket. Since kaspi came into existence, the QR code has become widespread in Kazakhstan and almost all payments can be made in no time at all by scanning a QR code in the store. Invoices are stored digitally. In addition, they now also offer an online store, similar to Amazon, where you can order anything. Even products for 5€ can be paid in installments, which is often used in Kazakhstan. Kaspi only charges a modest 13.5% interest for this 😉
Kaspi is an app that everyone has and everyone needs
in the big cities, digitalization is now more advanced than I have ever seen in any other Central European country. I became aware of this last week after a visit to a club, when a man with no legs and his young son ran into me.
When I went to get out my wallet and search for change, the little boy just held up a sign and asked me" Касри есть"? This means something like "do you have kaspi?"
he did not want to accept my small change, rather he referred me to the sign with his kaspi contact details, I should please donate the money digitally 😅
for me as a German, it was almost embarrassing that even beggars in such a poor country have a more "digital" mindset than I do 😂...
kaspi pay
since it should not be mere storytelling here something with economy😉
Revenue and profit after tax have always grown by at least 24% since 2017, 40% in 2021.✅
Out of 18 million inhabitants of Kazakhstan, 12 million people use kaspi at least once a month✅.
63% use it daily✅
56 transactions per month have all kaspi users on average✅.
kaspi has an ecosystem created, customers borrow money from kaspi, they spend it through kaspi, salary comes to kaspi. No matter where money is earned, there is most likely at least one party in the game using kaspi 😅
My conclusion
of course you have to read into the numbers, but I have rarely seen a company that can have such an enormous impact on the daily lives of the people of an entire country. It became clear in January when the Internet was shut down here during riots. During this time, kaspi somehow managed to continue to provide news to all kaspi users and bypass the government blockades. Kaspi is no longer considered a bank but a "separate person" that is there for the people. While here in the West many banks are perceived by the "common" people as evil, unethical or conservative, kaspi enjoys great popularity among all classes.
Finally, my question to you: Касри есть?
