Media reports say Kazakhstan’s Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) has set limits on the validity period of payment cards for non-residents of Kazakhstan, as well as the number an individual can have.

An ARDFM resolution published on the country's system of regulatory and legal acts notes that an exception applies to the validity period of cards issued to entrepreneurial entities, diplomatic staff and investors.

In addition, according to the new rules, holders of more than five cards from one bank (previously, the amount was ten cards) will be considered suspicious for a bank in terms of the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Interfax reports that an exception is made for additional payment cards issued in the name of children, as well as for credit cards used for obtaining and repaying bank loans.

The resolution on amendments to certain regulatory legal acts of Kazakhstan on regulating the activities of financial organizations was adopted on December 31, 2024.

In response to an inquiry by Kursiv.media, the ARDFM said that new rules do not apply to the already activated payment cards.

Kursiv.media notes that the ARDFM has also instructed banks to detect transactions connected with: illegal production, turnover and transit of drugs; payments and money transfers in favor of digital asset exchanges that are not part of the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC); and payments and money transfers in favor of online and electronic casino games.