ASTANA – The National Payment Corporation of Kazakhstan has outlined ongoing projects to integrate the digital tenge into multiple sectors of the economy. The digital tenge is a third form of the national currency, alongside cash and bank deposits. Issued by the National Bank of Kazakhstan, it combines the advantages of both cash and non-cash payments.
Photo credit: National Bank’s press service
Beginning in 2024, the digital tenge has been applied in eight pilot scenarios. Total issuance under these projects reached 336.6 billion digital tenge (US$685.9 million), with more than 1,000 transactions conducted, Kazinform reported on Feb. 18.
Infrastructure and targeted public spending
One of the primary applications has been monitoring how the National Fund’s allocations are spent. Major infrastructure projects, including the Dostyk-Moiynty railway and the Taldykorgan-Usharal gas pipeline, were financed using a digital currency marking mechanism, enabling authorities to track expenditures.
In 2024-2025, the instrument was also used to subsidize leasing for agricultural machinery and equipment, as well as to finance livestock purchases under the state’s Auyl-Amanaty rural development program.
Additionally, pilot projects were launched during 2024-2025 to finance two medium-term road repair initiatives in the Atyrau and Pavlodar Regions.
Faster VAT refunds
Another initiative is the Digital VAT mechanism, which reduces VAT refund times for exporters from 90 days to five business days.
The currency is also being tested in market applications. A pilot project, for example, monitored the targeted use of funds by the Kazakhstan Football Federation.
Expansion into lending and public procurement
Since the end of 2025, purchases by the National Bank and its subsidiaries have been made in digital tenge. Pilot lending projects were also launched through the DAMU Entrepreneurship Development Fund and the Development Bank of Kazakhstan in late 2025 and January.
The Digital Tenge pilot project was initially launched in November 2023 with five participating banks, testing issuance and peer-to-peer payments among selected clients.
