Over the past few years, the entry threshold into the world of investments in Kazakhstan has dropped to a single click in a mobile app. Ecosystems (Freedom Broker, BCC, Kaspi, Halyk) have made buying shares and opening deposits as routine as transferring money. However, behind the outward simplicity lies a deep divide: while some users limit themselves to simple savings, others are forced to juggle multiple apps and spreadsheets to piece together their portfolio.
What is this research about?
In this study, we conducted in-depth interviews with Kazakhstanis to explore their experience interacting with banking ecosystems.
In this article, we analyze investment services, including deposits:
- How do different segments choose between a conservative deposit and a volatile stock market?
- Why does financial literacy often lead to lower ratings for banking services?
- What prevents ecosystems from becoming a single window for wealth management?
Below is a detailed breakdown of the five archetypes shaping Kazakhstan's investment landscape.
😐 Normies
For this segment, investments end where risk begins. They perceive the bank as a safe place to store their "stash" and use only the most understandable instruments—non-withdrawable deposits.
Investments and brokerage services (Rating: 8/10)
The high rating is explained by the fact that banks fully satisfy their modest request: "deposit and forget." They do not need charts and analytics; it is enough to see the growing interest amount.
Quote: "Kaspi has a non-withdrawable deposit with the highest interest rates, I transfer my salary there from Freedom. I use part of the money to pay off installments, and part to replenish the deposit."
Behavior: They replenish the deposit immediately after payday. They do not follow the stock market or exchange rates unless they are planning a major purchase. The main motive is the psychological comfort of having savings in an "anchor" bank.
Blockers and barriers
- The "complex words" barrier: If the bank starts offering them "mutual funds," "ETFs," or "IPOs," the normie feels incompetent and closes the section. Overly complex terminology in the interface is the main stopper.
- Lack of automatic prompts: They are not notified when more favorable deposit rates appear within the same app, which can lead them to keep money under less favorable conditions for years.
- Low threshold of interest: An almost complete lack of curiosity about any investment instruments beyond a standard savings account.
🤑 Pragmatists
Rational players who turn saving into a sport of maximizing returns. They are not attached to a single brand and are ready to distribute capital across 3-4 banks if it brings an extra percent or cashback.
Investments and brokerage services (Rating: 5/10)
The average rating is due to the fact that ecosystems force them to perform many manual actions. To get the maximum, they have to constantly transfer amounts between Kaspi, Freedom, and BCC.
Quote: "Freedom has the best bonus system—if you keep more than 1 million with them, you get high cashback. But Kaspi has better conditions for non-withdrawable deposits."
Behavior: They actively compare conditions. They might keep money on a Freedom card for dynamic cashback, but transfer a portion to BCC for the built-in broker or to Kaspi for a stable deposit.
Blockers and barriers
- Friction in interbank transfers: The main unique blocker is the fees and limits on transferring large amounts between their own accounts in different banks. This is a "diversification tax" that irritates them.
- Lack of "end-to-end" management: They lack a unified dashboard that would show: "Your total income from all deposits in all banks today amounted to X tenge."
- Utilitarian minimalism: Limited use of brokerage functions (for example, in BCC or Freedom) only to perform the simplest basic operations.
🥸 Old-schoolers
A conservative segment that trusts only what it understands. For them, investments are a digital savings book. Any interface complexity cuts them off from using the product.
Investments and brokerage services (Rating: 9/10)
A paradoxically high rating, as ecosystems have made opening a deposit in Kaspi or Halyk elementary. They do not need to delve into details—a deposit is opened in a couple of clicks.
Quote: "I don't really understand all this, I only use bank cards. I don't keep any financial records, I only look at the analytics."
Behavior: They use only the simplest deposit in the bank where their pension or salary arrives. They perceive investments in stocks or crypto as "overseas games" that do not deserve trust.
Blockers and barriers
- Aggressive marketing of complex products: Advertising banners like "Buy Apple shares" or "Invest in gold" in the main menu cause them irritation and fear of accidentally clicking and "losing everything."
- Lack of visual continuity: If the deposit interface differs from the current account interface, old-schoolers get lost and stop trusting the displayed numbers.
- Time entry barrier: The conviction that figuring out investment products on their own is a process that is too complex and time-consuming.
🧐 Financially Literate
An expert segment that demands professional tools from the bank within an everyday app. For them, investments are not a "piggy bank," but active portfolio management.
Investments and brokerage services (Rating: 5/10)
A low rating due to the fragmentation of services. They value BCC for its built-in brokerage account but are forced to use Binance for crypto and Google Sheets to balance the books.
Quote: "BCC has convenient brokerage investing because it is built-in. In Freedom, you can exchange currency for shares, but it takes a long time to figure it out. I received an offer from a broker, I study the market through ChatGPT and spreadsheets."
Behavior: They constantly monitor quotes, use third-party analytical services and AI to analyze charts. They hold capital in different currencies and jurisdictions, trying to piece it all together manually.
Blockers and barriers
- Portfolio analytics "blindness": The main blocker is that the bank does not see the user's assets in other places (crypto wallets, other brokers). Without cross-platform data aggregation, the banking app remains just one of the tabs in the browser.
- The gap between bank and broker: Even within a single ecosystem (e.g., Freedom), the user often has to download two different apps. The lack of a seamless "one login—all assets" transition reduces loyalty.
- Technical inertia: Critical delays in operations (for example, a brokerage account replenishment "freezing" in Halyk for up to 3 days) amid an acute demand for a convenient built-in tool.
😡 The Burned
People with traumatic experiences of blocks or processing errors. For them, investing in Kazakhstani banks means the risk of frozen funds for reasons beyond their control.
Investments and brokerage services (Rating: 3/10)
Their strategy is "minimal presence." Even with favorable rates, they will not risk keeping an amount exceeding the KDIF guaranteed payout limit in one bank.
Quote: "My friends have faced missing money—since then I distribute my savings. I don't use Kaspi, I had a debt there and they blocked me."
Behavior: They diversify their savings to the point of fanaticism. They prefer foreign brokers or physical assets. Any bank innovation in the investment sphere is met with suspicion: "Will they block this money under a new pretext?"
Blockers and barriers
- Fear of systemic failure: A unique blocker—the memory of technical errors (for example, in Freedom) that led to legal problems. They do not believe in the "automatic" security of domestic investments.
- Opaque withdrawal procedures: If the process of withdrawing funds from a brokerage account to a bank takes more than a few minutes or requires calls to support, the "burned" user perceives this as an attempt to hold their money by force.
- Total rejection: Complete, principled ignoring of any investment offers from the bank due to critical organizational errors in the past.
Final summary
The investment sphere in Kazakhstan has split into two worlds. In the first are Normies and Old-schoolers, who are completely satisfied with simple deposits. In the second are Pragmatists and the Financially Literate, who feel an acute shortage of unified analytics and seamlessness.
The main insight: the future belongs not to new instruments, but to aggregation. The winning ecosystem will be the first to offer a "portfolio view" of all user assets (including other banks and crypto) and turn investments from a set of different apps into a single, transparent, and secure process for managing the future.
