Banking in Kazakhstan: Banks, Accounts, Deposit Guarantee

Three public bodies stand behind a bank in Kazakhstan: the National Bank, which sets the rules for money, the regulator ARDFM, which licenses and supervises the banks, and the deposit guarantee fund KDIF, which pays deposits back up to a limit if a bank loses its licence. A foreigner needs an IIN (ИИН, IIN: the 12-digit personal number) to use bank services.

Savings deposits in tenge

up to 20 million tenge

Cards, accounts and other deposits in tenge

up to 10 million tenge

Foreign currency (deposits, cards, accounts)

up to 5 million tenge, in tenge equivalent

Several types in one bank

each within its own limit, not more than 20 million tenge together

KDIF · checked 30.10.2026 · guarantee · what is guaranteed · how it is counted

Who stands behind a bank: three bodies

A commercial bank is a банк второго уровня (bank vtorogo urovnya), a second-tier bank in ARDFM’s English. Each body has its own job.

National Bank, ARDFM, KDIF · checked 30.10.2026 · National Bank · ARDFM about · banking sector · consumer protection · KDIF release

The tenge and the base rate: what the National Bank sets

The money of Kazakhstan is the tenge. In Russian it is written тенге, in Kazakh теңге (teñge). The National Bank has issued a new series of notes in the «Saka style» since December 2023. Old and new notes circulate side by side for one year, and both are legal tender. The year printed on a note is the year its design was approved, not the year it was issued. The series goes out through second-tier banks and the post operator Kazpost.

National Bank · checked 30.10.2026 · Saka style notes

The National Bank’s benchmark for money-market rates is TONIA. A change in the base rate reaches inflation within 12 to 18 months, the National Bank estimates. The 2026 schedule, with the rate in force from each date:

National Bank · checked 30.10.2026 · base rate · decision of 23.10.2026 · schedule

For the day’s exchange rates, the National Bank keeps an «Exchange rate» page, a daily table of currencies against the tenge: nationalbank.kz, Exchange rate.

The licensed banks: 23 in the register, 20 in the fund

Two lists exist, and they differ. ARDFM’s register of second-tier banks totals 23. KDIF’s list of participants in the deposit guarantee system totals 20, and a KDIF release of 24.07.2026 still speaks of 21. A bank, other than an Islamic bank, becomes a participant on the day KDIF enters it in its register. Names in ARDFM’s English forms, in alphabetical order; a letter lights the names under it.

KDIF marks some banks «ДБ (DB)», дочерний банк, dochernyy bank, a subsidiary bank, and ARDFM’s English is «Subsidiary Bank».

ARDFM, KDIF · checked 30.10.2026 · ARDFM register · KDIF participants · KDIF release of 24.07.2026

Opening an account as a foreigner: the IIN first

The IIN is a unique 12-digit number given to citizens of Kazakhstan at birth. Regional state pages say a foreign citizen can apply for one, and that without it a foreigner cannot take a job, register a car or a flat, or use bank services.

1. Apply for the IIN at a ЦОН, TSONA ЦОН is a Центр обслуживания населения, Tsentr obsluzhivaniya naseleniya, a Public Service Center. The IIN is ready within one working day, free of charge, at a ЦОН or through the state portal (Shal akyn district page, 09.11.2021). A foreigner cannot log in to the portal, so a citizen of Kazakhstan may order it without a power of attorney.
2. Bring the papersAn application and an ID or passport. If the passport has no name in Cyrillic or Latin letters, a notarised translation is added.
3. Any foreign citizenA foreign citizen of any state may get an IIN for business or financial operations, and the number says nothing about citizenship (Koksu district page, 05.10.2022).
4. Then the bankWhat a bank asks for in addition is the bank’s decision. The legal basis for countering money laundering and terrorist financing is the Law of 28.08.2009 No. 191-IV (ARDFM).

Regional state pages (gov.kz), ARDFM · checked 30.10.2026 · Shal akyn district, 09.11.2021 · Koksu district, 05.10.2022 · ARDFM, AML/CFT

Three lines in Russian for the counter. Copy one to show it, or read the respelling.

A SIM card in Kazakhstan is registered to the owner’s ID number or, for a foreigner, to a foreign passport: Mobile Operators in Kazakhstan.

What the guarantee covers: limits, banks, people

The guarantee, гарантия, garantiya, means that KDIF pays the depositor, вкладчик, vkladchik, back up to a limit when the bank loses its licence. It protects individuals, individual entrepreneurs, private notaries, private bailiffs, advocates and professional mediators. It starts by itself on the day the contract is signed, and the depositor does nothing.

• Covered: deposits in tenge and in foreign currency, demand, term and savings deposits, the money on current accounts and payment cards, and the interest earned up to the day the bank loses its licence.
• A foreigner: the payment is made regardless of the depositor’s citizenship.
• Spouses: each spouse who owns an account may receive within the maximum.
• Not covered: metal accounts of individuals, money and valuables in bank safe-deposit boxes, deposit certificates, deposits of legal entities and deposits in Islamic banks, including the branches of foreign Islamic banks.

KDIF · checked 30.10.2026 · what is guaranteed · questions and answers

One bank, several types

Each type is paid within its own limit, and not more than 20 million tenge together.

Several banks

Deposits in different participating banks are guaranteed separately in each bank.

Foreign currency

Counted in tenge at the market rate on the day the bank loses its licence, and paid in tenge. The rate is not revised later.

Interest and debts

The interest earned is counted. A debt of the depositor to the bank, such as a loan, is set off.

сберегательный депозит (sberegatel’nyy depozit)

Money left for long-term goals. Under the Civil Code the depositor can take it out early only after 30 calendar days from the request, in full, and the interest earned is cancelled except up to 0.1 % a year.

срочный депозит (srochnyy depozit)

The money can be taken out in full or in part before the end, with part of the interest lost.

несрочный депозит (nesrochnyy depozit)

Money can be paid in and taken out at any time, within the minimum balance.

депозит до востребования (depozit do vostrebovaniya)

A demand deposit pays at most 0.1 % a year.

KDIF · checked 30.10.2026 · guarantee · foreign currency · counting · savings deposit · term deposit · non-term deposit · cards and accounts

If a bank loses its licence: the pay-out, day by day

The loss of the licence, лишение лицензии, lishenie litsenzii, is the event that starts the pay-out. An agent bank, банк-агент, bank-agent, is a working bank that KDIF has authorised to take applications and pay.

KDIF · checked 30.10.2026 · how to get the guarantee · pay-out step by step · above the guarantee · release of 24.07.2026 · banks in liquidation

A late application for a valid reason goes to KDIF in Almaty or Astana: military service, being abroad with a border-crossing mark in the passport, an inheritance, prison, or circumstances set by a court.

Words at the counter: in Russian

Quick answers

Sources and limits

Not financial or legal advice. No bank is named as better than another.