AIFC  ·  AFSA LICENSING

AFSA Licensing — Banking & Credit

A foreign group can establish a bank or a lender in the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), but the licence is narrower than a Kazakhstan banking licence. An AIFC Bank needs USD 10 million of Common Equity Tier 1 Capital, and the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) generally accepts only a branch or subsidiary of an existing bank, or a new entity in a group that contains a regulated bank or comparable institution. It may not accept deposits from Retail Clients, may not open tenge accounts, and may not take deposits from Kazakhstan residents outside the AIFC. A Credit Provider needs USD 2 million, may not take deposits, and may lend to Kazakhstan companies in foreign currency only. Advising on or arranging a credit facility needs USD 10,000.

This guide is part of the AFSA Licensing section. Islamic banks and Islamic financing companies fall under separate rules: see AFSA Islamic Finance Licensing.

Legal Framework

AIFC Acts may be based on the law of England and Wales and the standards of leading global financial centres (Constitutional Statute, Art. 4). Kazakhstan banking law does not supply the licence, but Kazakhstan currency policy still shapes what an AIFC bank can do, through rules agreed with the National Bank of Kazakhstan (Art. 5).

Which Licence Fits Your Business

A firm authorised for Accepting Deposits or Opening and Operating Bank Accounts is a Bank, whatever else it does (BBR 1.5). A firm authorised for Providing Credit that is not a Bank is a Credit Provider (BBR 1.7). Fees are in USD.

A firm dealing in investments as principal is a Broker Dealer with base capital of USD 500,000 (BBR 1.6, 4.10): see AFSA Capital Markets Licensing. Credit between companies in the same Group, solely as principal, is excluded from the licence (GEN 1.1.12), though not for a firm providing only Commercial Captive Finance.

What an AIFC Bank Can and Cannot Do

No Retail deposits. A Bank must not accept Deposits from Retail Clients (COB 18.2). Regulated institutions and listed companies are Deemed Professional Clients. So is a Large Undertaking, meeting two of three tests: total assets of USD 20 million, net turnover of USD 40 million, own funds of USD 2 million (COB 2.4). An individual can opt up with net assets of at least USD 100,000, excluding the primary residence, sufficient experience and written confirmations (COB 2.5).

No tenge accounts. An AIFC Bank other than an Islamic bank may not open tenge accounts for anyone, resident or non-resident (Currency Rules 3.1.4(a)).

COB 18.2 applies in every row. AIFC Banks also may not handle residents' export and import transactions, or client exchange transactions involving tenge except as Schedule 4 allows, and may use a tenge correspondent account at a Kazakhstan commercial bank only for the Schedule 4 list, such as the bank's own transactions, certain client tax, payroll and rent payments, and securities settlement (Currency Rules 3.1.4).

A Credit Provider follows the same lending line. Advising on and arranging credit are open to Kazakhstan residents in any currency, with tenge payments through a Kazakhstan commercial bank (Schedule 2, related services 4 and 5).

A business that needs retail deposits or tenge accounts in Kazakhstan needs a licence from the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) under Law No. 258-VIII on Banks and Banking Activity of 16 January 2026: see Financial Services Licensing in Kazakhstan. AFSA states that its authorisation covers activity in or from the AIFC only.

Who Can Apply

Banks. AFSA considers that an applicant must generally be a branch or subsidiary of an existing bank, or a newly incorporated entity in a Group containing a regulated bank or similar comparable financial institution. Anyone else is generally unsuitable, and AFSA will vary this only in the most justifiably exceptional or strategically important cases (Policy Statement, 3.2, 3.3). The applicant must also address the absence of a central bank in the AIFC, as lender of last resort or currency issuer, in its business, capital, liquidity and resolution plans (3.5).

Branches. The quantitative capital rules in BBR Chapter 4 do not apply to a branch, although AFSA may require capital where it considers that necessary, and governance and systems rules still apply (BBR 1.9, 4.2). AFSA tests the whole firm against its threshold conditions, the equivalence of home supervision and supervisory co-operation, usually under a Memorandum of Understanding. If these fall short, the outcome is a subsidiary or added conditions (Supervisory Policy Statement, 2.3 to 2.10).

Credit Providers. The start-up policy addresses Banks. A Credit Provider must still meet the licence criteria (FSFR s 34). It may raise funds through debt instruments of any type, but must not accept Deposits (BBR 1.7).

Lighter routes for regulated foreign firms. A Representative Office licence is open only to a firm regulated outside the AIFC, may market only its head office's or group's services offered outside the AIFC, and cannot be combined with another Regulated Activity (GEN Schedule 1, para 16; REP 2.2, 2.3). AFSA's Fast-Track Authorisation Regime (Notice AFSA-ATD-NOT-2026-0018 of 20 August 2026) is open to firms supervised by the UK FCA, ASIC, MAS, the Hong Kong SFC and HKMA, ADGM FSRA, DFSA and QFCRA. AFSA's published list includes Advising on and Arranging a Credit Facility and Operating a Representative Office. It does not name Accepting Deposits or Providing Credit.

Requirements

Capital

CET1 Capital must at least equal the base requirement at authorisation and afterwards (BBR 4.8). The ongoing requirement is the higher of the base and risk-based requirements (BBR 4.9), so the base figure is a floor. A firm that only advises on or arranges credit is subject to the base requirement alone (BBR 1.8(3)).

People

• Approved Individuals at all times: Senior Executive Officer, Finance Officer, Compliance Officer and Money Laundering Reporting Officer (GEN 2.1.1). Directors are also Controlled Functions.
• Banks, Broker Dealers and Credit Providers must also appoint a Risk Manager and an Internal Audit Manager (GEN 2.1.2).
• Residency: the MLRO must be resident in Kazakhstan, and a deputy is required (AML 13.1). The Senior Executive Officer has no strict residency rule but is expected to spend an appropriate amount of time in Kazakhstan. AFSA may require residency for other functions (FSFR s 45).
• Separation: AFSA does not expect one person to be both Senior Executive Officer and Compliance Officer.

The firm needs a registered office in the AIFC. The Governing Body answers for compliance with BBR and must review significant policies at least every 12 months (BBR 1.11).

Documents

• Application for Regulated Activities with the Banking Business supplement; AFSA has a shorter form for firms limited to advising on or arranging credit.
• A Regulatory Business Plan with three-year financial projections showing minimum capital.
• Approved Individual applications, and fitness and propriety information on Controllers, meaning holders of 10% or more of shares or votes, or significant influence (GEN 3.1.1).
• Compliance manual and monitoring programme, risk management, conflicts and AML/CTF policies, and a business continuity plan.

Procedure, Timeline and Fees

The FSFR sets no deadline for a licence decision. AFSA states an average of about two to three months from a materially complete application, excluding time waiting for the applicant. The commitments below are AFSA's own.

Registration follows In-Principle Approval and comes before the Licence. AFSA's FAQ does not allow a company to register first and seek authorisation later. AFSA does recommend starting the Registrar process when the application is filed, to avoid delay at the end. See AIFC Entity Formation.

Fees. With more than one activity the applicant pays the highest fee in full and 50% of each other fee, plus USD 500 for each Approved Individual (FEES Schedule 1). Accepting Deposits with Providing Credit therefore costs USD 28,000 before individual fees. Application fees are non-refundable (FEES 1.4). From 1 January 2027 annual supervision is the highest fixed fee plus 50% of the fixed fee for each additional activity; for 2026 only the highest is payable (FEES 3.1.5, 3.1.6).

A rejection may be appealed to the AIFC Court (FSFR s 35).

Ongoing Obligations

• Prudential returns: as AFSA's notices require, with notice to AFSA of any actual or expected prudential breach (BBR 3.4, 3.8).
• ICAAP: at least annually, approved by the Governing Body and filed within four months of year end (BBR 11.2).
• Accounts and audit: IFRS financial statements and audit reports to AFSA within four months of year end (GEN 6.3.1, 6.3.9).
• Controllers: prior AFSA approval to become a Controller of an AIFC-incorporated firm or to cross 30% or 50%, normally within 30 days of a complete application; fee USD 1,400 (FSFR s 48; GEN 3.2).
• Deposit terms: written terms before the first Deposit and 10 business days' notice of unilateral changes (COB 18.3, 18.6).
• Financial crime: suspicious transaction reports to the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Republic of Kazakhstan, records for at least six years, and an annual AML Return within two months after year end (AML 13.7). See AML/CFT Compliance in Kazakhstan.

Tax Position

Until 1 January 2066, AIFC Participants are exempt from corporate income tax on listed financial services provided in the territory of the AIFC, and those services are exempt from VAT (Constitutional Statute, Art. 6(3), (8-2)). The Statute names Islamic banking but not conventional banking. It also covers services set by a joint AIFC Act, and the Joint Order of May and June 2020 (AIFC No. 126, Ministry of Finance No. 547, Ministry of National Economy No. 118) lists Accepting Deposits, Providing Credit, Advising on and Arranging a Credit Facility, and Opening and Operating Bank Accounts. Checked in November 2026: Article 6(3) was last amended on 30 December 2022 and still refers the list to a joint act, the Tax Code No. 214-VIII of 18 July 2025 did not change it, the AIFC still publishes the Order, and we found no amendment to it.

The exemption is conditional. The firm must perform its main activities in the AIFC, with adequate expenses and qualified full-time staff there, may not outsource core income-generating work outside Kazakhstan (Substantial Presence Rules, paras 6, 13), and must keep separate accounts (Art. 6(5)). Otherwise the ordinary Tax Code applies.

Common Mistakes Foreign Investors Make

• Planning a retail or tenge bank. The AIFC licence cannot deliver either. If the business case depends on Kazakhstan households or tenge deposits, the route is ARDFM.
• Applying as a start-up. A founder-owned bank with no regulated group is generally unsuitable, however well capitalised.
• Treating USD 10 million as the whole answer. Capital must also cover the risk-based requirement, the buffer and expenses while revenues take time to arrive (Policy Statement, 3.7).
• Funding a lender with what are in substance deposits. Test each funding line against the Deposit definition.
• Lending to Kazakhstan individuals, or in tenge to Kazakhstan companies. Neither is on Schedule 2.
• Operating before the licence. The firm generally cannot enforce agreements made in breach of the General Prohibition, and the counterparty may recover money paid through the AIFC Court (FSFR ss 24, 28).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an AIFC bank accept deposits from individuals?

Only from non-residents who are not Retail Clients. COB 18.2 bars Retail deposits, and savings accounts are prohibited for Kazakhstan residents outside the AIFC. A non-resident individual classified as an Assessed Professional Client can hold a foreign-currency savings account.

Can a new investor with no bank in its group obtain a bank licence?

Generally not. Suitable applicants are a branch or subsidiary of an existing bank, or a new entity in a Group containing a regulated bank or comparable institution. AFSA departs from this only in the most justifiably exceptional or strategically important cases.

Does a branch need USD 10 million?

Not automatically. BBR Chapter 4 does not require a branch to hold capital, but AFSA may require it for effective supervision, and home supervision must be sufficiently equivalent.

Can a Credit Provider lend to Kazakhstan companies?

Yes, in foreign currency, through AIFC banks or Kazakhstan commercial banks (Currency Rules, Schedule 2). Loans to Kazakhstan individuals are prohibited. Lending to AIFC Participants and non-residents is governed by the licence.

Do we need a licence to arrange a syndicated loan from the AIFC?

Yes, if the firm does so by way of business in or from the AIFC and is not a party to the facility. Merely providing a communication channel between lender and borrower is excluded, as is arranging that is a necessary, unremunerated part of legal or accounting services (GEN Schedule 1, para 20).

Related Pages

AFSA Licensing  ·  AFSA Islamic Finance Licensing  ·  AFSA Payment Services Licensing  ·  AFSA Capital Markets Licensing  ·  AIFC Entity Formation  ·  Financial Services Licensing in Kazakhstan

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Primary sources: aifc.kz, afsa.aifc.kz — Constitutional Statute No. 438-V; FSFR; GEN; BBR; COB; AML; FEES; REP; AIFC Rules on Currency Regulation; AFSA Perimeter Guidance; AFSA Policy Statement AFSA-P-PE-2023-0001; Supervisory Policy Statement on Branch Supervision; AFSA Guide on the Authorisation Process; Joint Order of 2020 on the List of Financial Services; Rules on Substantial Presence; Law No. 258-VIII