Veon plans digital bank in Kazakhstan as telecom group expands into finance
Kazakhstan is becoming a bigger testing ground for telecom-led digital services as Veon pushes beyond mobile operations in one of its key revenue markets. The Dubai-based group says it plans to launch a digital bank in the country by the end of next year, setting up a challenge to established local lenders.
Highlights
- Veon plans to launch a digital bank in Kazakhstan by the end of next year, expanding beyond its Beeline telecom operations.
- The initiative will place Veon in direct competition with major Kazakh financial groups, targeting a top-two position in financial services.
- Kazakhstan, Veon's third-largest revenue market, is central to its strategy of growing digital and financial services to diversify income.
Digital banking push in a core market
As reported by Bloomberg, Veon plans to create a digital bank in Kazakhstan by the end of next year as it broadens its presence in digital services beyond telecommunications.The company is expanding further into banking and lifestyle offerings in Kazakhstan, its third-largest market by revenue, where it operates under the Beeline brand. Chief Executive Officer Kaan Terzioglu said in an interview that the group wants to build a much stronger position in financial services.
Terzioglu said he would like Veon to rank number one or number two in financial services, though he did not specify a timeline for reaching that goal.
Competitive pressure on leading lenders
The move places Veon in more direct competition with some of Kazakhstan's largest financial groups, adding a telecom operator to a market already dominated by established lenders.For Veon, the planned bank would deepen its strategy of using its customer base and digital platform to grow adjacent services in Central Asia. The expansion also suggests Kazakhstan remains an important market for the company as it looks for new revenue streams beyond traditional mobile business.
Our earlier article on SEON’s expansion in the Philippines focused on how rising digital payments and tighter fraud-control requirements are boosting demand for risk management tools. We noted that SEON, working with local partner Exist Software Labs, aims to broaden its customer base beyond fintech to include traditional banks, remittance providers and other payments-related businesses as compliance pressures grow.
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