Daria Kashurina
ALMATY, May 5, 2026 – Payments are no longer a transaction layer. They are strategic infrastructure shaping commerce, sovereignty, and competitiveness – and Central Asia and the Caucasus have a defining window to build their own. That was the central message of “Global Payments Dialogue: Interoperability, AI & Cross-Border Rails,” a panel at GITEX AI Central Asia & Caucasus Kazakhstan, hosted by the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan in partnership with Astana Hub and the Akimat of Almaty, and aligned with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s emphasis on AI as a driver of sustainable economic growth.
Moderated by Shota Dighmelashvili, Editor in Chief of Forbes Georgia, the session brought together Gani Uzbekov, Founder and CEO of S1LKPAY, and Bogdan Zadorozhny, Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of 8B.
Regional GDP is expected to grow nearly 4.7% in 2025–2026, the IT services market is forecast to reach $5.6 billion by 2029, and Kazakhstan has digitised 90% of its public services and ranks #1 in Central Asia for AI readiness.
Gani Uzbekov of S1LKPAY argued that interoperability is many local systems made invisible to the user, not one global one:
“For the user, a payment is two seconds and a tap. For us, those two seconds are the result of dozens of decisions across rails, currencies, compliance layers, and settlement networks. Real interoperability is many local systems made invisible to the user. That is the only version that scales across a region as diverse as ours.” – Gani Uzbekov, Founder and CEO, S1LKPAY
He warned that as AI agents and super-apps select payment methods on users’ behalf, multi-rail readiness will separate platforms that scale from those locked out of cross-border commerce.
Bogdan Zadorozhny of 8B framed national QR and A2A systems as a question of sovereignty:
“When a country builds its own QR and A2A rails, it is not just saving on interchange – it is deciding who sets the rules of its digital economy. Central Asia and the Caucasus have a rare window: the rails being designed in Almaty, Tashkent, Tbilisi, and Baku in the next twenty-four months will shape the next two decades of regional commerce.” – Bogdan Zadorozhny, Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer, 8B
On stablecoins, with cross-border B2B settlement still averaging 6%+ in fees and 2–4 days, he identified genuine utility in trade settlement, treasury, and remittances – while cautioning that consumer use cases remain overhyped. Looking ahead, he added:
“Regulators across the region are already moving in the right direction. The next step is making cross-border compatibility a design principle from day one – programmable, machine-readable, and interoperable by default. That is how Central Asia becomes a hub for digital trade.”
Reflecting on the session, Shota Dighmelashvili said:
“The future of payments may look effortless for users – but it will require serious work underneath: trust, regulation, settlement, merchant adoption, and cross-border compatibility. Central Asia has a real opportunity to build it.” – Shota Dighmelashvili, Editor in Chief, Forbes Georgia
