KaR-Tel, the company that owns the Beeline mobile operator in Kazakhstan, intends to obtain a first-category payment organization license. This status will give it access to corporate accounts, the issuance of payment cards, and connection to the interbank payment system, according to infohub.kz.
The corresponding memorandum of cooperation in the development of payment services and payment infrastructure was signed at the Central Asia Fintech Summit 2026. The document was signed by the National Bank, the international company VEON, and KaR-Tel, which is part of the VEON group.
The agreement provides that companies within the VEON holding will receive first-category payment organization licenses. In addition, the parties plan to work together to improve payment services and introduce modern digital payment services.
As Binur Zhalenov, Deputy Chairman of the National Bank, explained earlier, a payment organization license grants the right to provide all types of banking services except accepting deposits and issuing loans. A payment organization may open accounts for individuals and legal entities, issue cards, and process payments via a unified QR code.
KaR-Tel, part of the VEON group, operates in Kazakhstan as a mobile operator under the Beeline brand. The company is already developing its own payment service: in 2021, it launched the Simply mobile neobank. Its app allows users to open a virtual card and make various payments and transfers.
Earlier, VEON CEO Kaan Terzioğlu stated that the company aims to compete with the Kazakh fintech company Kaspi.kz, as well as with local taxi services operating under the Yandex brand.