Freedom Bank Implements Visa B2B Connect in Kazakhstan

Freedom Finance Bank Kazakhstan JSC and Visa have partnered to facilitate cross-border payments from the central Asian country.

UZ Daily reported Tuesday (Feb. 21) that the bank is deploying the Visa B2B Connect payment service in Kazakhstan, allowing companies in the country to make international transfers in foreign currency, delivered to the recipient’s bank within 48 hours and with guaranteed security.

“Connecting to the Visa B2B Connect platform will strengthen Kazakhstani business and build an ecosystem of financial services for legal entities,” Aidos Zhumagulov, adviser to the chairman of the board of directors of Freedom Bank, said in the report.

This is the first launch of Visa B2B Connect in central Asia and is part of Freedom Bank’s efforts to provide digital banking services in Kazakhstan, according to the report.

“Thanks to our partnership with Freedom Bank, Kazakhstani businesses will be able to make cross-border payments quickly, conveniently and securely, getting closer to their customers,” Kristina Dorosh, vice president and Visa regional manager for Central Asia and Azerbaijan, said in the report. “I am sure that the launch of the technology will contribute to the further development of the country’s economy.”

This report comes about three months after Samsung Electronics announced that it was launching its Samsung Wallet in Kazakhstan along with Vietnam and 11 new markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

“We are focused on bringing the platform to as many markets as possible, as soon as possible, so more Samsung Galaxy users have the opportunity to reap the benefits of the digital wallet,” Jeanie Han, executive vice president and head of Digital Life Team at Mobile eXperience Business, Samsung Electronics, said at the time.

Visa B2B Connect was launched in 2019 and was built from the ground up to bring cross-border corporate payments into the digital age and to solve the many frictions inherent in sending money from one bank account to another across borders.

It was also built to be a transparent network — one that provides visibility into where funds are along their account-to-account journey and how much it will cost for those funds to reach their destination.