(Read the full article on astanatimes.com)

Kazakhstan ranks 13th among the countries of the Asia-Pacific region and 66th in the overall rating among 83 countries in the Global Fintech Index Rankings Report, THE ASTANA TIMES reported citing the press service of the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC). Kazakhstan has entered the ratings for the first time.

The authors of the report titled “Bridging the gap” noted that this year 18 new fintech nations joined the ranking, which increased by more than 25 percent compared to last year. “Remember no country enters our data-driven index unless it is the headquarters of at least 10 privately owned fintech companies, so our Index shows that from Venezuela to Zimbabwe and Kazakhstan to Slovakia, fintech innovation is spreading fast,” they wrote.

This year, the ranking used information from 264 cities, 83 countries and 11,000 fintech companies. The top five countries are the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, Singapore, and Switzerland.

“This is an important indicator for the AIFC, since the development of the fintech ecosystem is one of the main priorities. The AIFC Fintech is the first regulator in the CIS region to introduce an international fintech regulatory sandbox, a tailored live environment where firms can offer services without the full burden of regulatory requirements,” AIFC said in a statement.

Currently, more than 120 startups from Kazakhstan and Central Asia are registered at the AIFC’s Fintech Hub, which offers startup support programs, develops corporate innovation, venture capital, a competence centre and talent development. Some 37 startups were presented at internationally recognized platforms and startup competitions, and 32 fintech startups were accepted into the regulatory sandbox in the mode of testing and developing new business models.