Kazakhstan has banned remote loan applications for citizens over 65. They must now visit a bank branch in person to obtain a loan. This was announced by National Bank Chairman Timur Suleimenov. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

According to him, the measure is aimed at protecting elderly people from phone scammers who convince their victims to take out loans and transfer money to fraudsters.

During a briefing, journalists highlighted cases where scammers call elderly Kazakhstani citizens and persuade them to take out large loans. In this regard, the head of the National Bank was asked why banks continue to issue such loans and whether requirements could be tightened.

Suleimenov said that the necessary changes have already been made to the legislation.

"Last year, parliament amended legislation regarding loans for young people aged 18 to 21 and citizens over 65. For these categories, mandatory physical presence at a bank branch is required," he said.

According to the head of the National Bank, most such fraud occurs precisely during remote loan processing.

"The basis of fraud is when a person is 'led' by phone. He takes out a loan online, passes biometrics, without entering the bank or talking to a bank manager. He is constantly told what to do, and he, excuse the expression, like a zombie, presses the necessary buttons, gets a loan and immediately transfers the money to scammers," Suleimenov explained.

That is why mandatory in-person bank visits were introduced for citizens over 65 when applying for a loan.

After the client visits the branch, responsibility shifts to bank employees.

"If a bank manager sees that a person is under someone else's influence, does not understand why he needs a loan, and, for example, says: 'I was called and told to take out a loan,' the bank is obliged to refuse the loan. This is not a matter of choice – can or cannot. He must say: 'No, dear client, we will not give you this loan,'" emphasized the Chairman of the National Bank.

He also noted that compliance with these requirements by banks is monitored by the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market.

It is worth noting that in Kazakhstan over the past year, the total amount of damage to pensioners from fraudsters amounts to billions of tenge, with only one major case in Almaty where elderly people lost more than 1.5 billion tenge. The total damage from online fraud for all categories of citizens in the country amounted to 12.2 billion tenge in 2025 and has already exceeded 4.8 billion tenge in the first months of 2026. Pensioners remain one of the most vulnerable groups, from whom scammers can extort from several million to 20 million tenge at a time.

Earlier it became known that Kazakhstan will more strictly monitor suspicious crypto payments.