Photo from the archive. Head of the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan Melis Turgunbaev
One of the significant achievements he mentioned was the introduction of a self-restriction mechanism for obtaining loans through the electronic services portal "Tunduk," which has already been used by about 114,000 citizens.
Turgunbaev also emphasized the importance of enshrining the principles of responsible lending in legislation, according to which borrowers must receive complete information in advance about rates, fees, terms, and payment schedules. He noted that it is prohibited to impose additional paid services not specified in the loan agreement.
Previously, the National Bank limited the possibility of applying penalties for late payments and prohibited banks from unilaterally worsening the terms of contracts.
The head of the National Bank spoke about the factors that contributed to the acceleration of digitalization, including the cancellation of fees for transfers between accounts in different banks. This led to a 54.5-fold increase in operations through the ELQR system and an almost 85-fold increase in the volume of payments. In the first half of 2025, 274.9 billion soms were processed through QR codes, which is 20 times higher than the results of the same period last year. Fees for opening and maintaining loan accounts, as well as for early repayment and other basic operations, have been canceled.
From this year, banks are required to publish tariffs and service conditions in advance, at least 10 working days before any changes, to ensure transparency for clients.
There has also been a legislative provision established regarding the digital som as the third form of national currency, alongside cash and non-cash money. According to Turgunbaev, the National Bank has the exclusive right to issue the digital som.
