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Starting March 19, individuals in Kazakhstan will begin earning interest on funds held in their current bank accounts, with rates potentially reaching up to 1% annually. This significant shift marks the return of a practice that was previously prohibited for the last seven years.

The change is a direct result of amendments made to the law "On Banks and Banking Activities." Prior to this, specifically from January 1, 2019, banks were barred from paying interest on money held in current accounts.

How the New Interest Works

The interest calculation is straightforward. If you maintain 100,000 tenge in your account and the annual interest rate is 1%, you can expect to receive approximately 1,000 tenge by the end of the year. Importantly, interest will only be calculated on the actual amount of money present in the account for the duration it is held, meaning any temporary withdrawals or deposits will affect the final interest earned.

A Return to Previous Practice

This type of interest payment was a common practice in Kazakhstan from 1999. However, in 2019, a change to Article 751 of the Civil Code removed the provision for interest on current accounts. At the time, the National Bank explained that these accounts were intended for daily transactions and settlements, not for earning interest.

The legislative groundwork for this reversal was laid on January 16, when President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed into law new banking legislation and related amendments. These new regulations are designed to introduce new types of banking operations and enhance regulatory oversight within the banking sector.

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