The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) has established a separate body to oversee the creation and implementation of the digital tenge, the country's central bank digital currency (CBDC).

The National Payment Corporation (NPC), according to an official announcement issued on September 15, is a reform of the Kazakhstan Center for Interbank Settlements. The new agency will be in charge of overseeing the national payment system, which will include interbank clearing services, money transfers, and digital identification.

The NPC will also be in charge of developing "digital financial infrastructure," which will include the introduction of the digital tenge.

The digital tenge's development began in February 2023, with a target launch date of 2025. Deputy Governor Berik Sholpankupov of the NBK explained the bank's concept of a "collaboration between traditional finance and DeFi" that might expand financial inclusion and support foreign trade at the time.

The CBDC pilot in Kazakhstan is currently in a controlled setting with genuine consumers and merchants. Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is one of the project's key partners. The trial is supported by the company's technical solution, BNB Chain.

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/cbdc-kazakhstan-establishes-regulatory-agency-cbdc

https://www.nationalbank.kz/ru/news/informacionnye-soobshcheniya/15923