Resolution of the Board of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic of 17 December 2025 No. 2025-П-14/67-5-(НПА)

On Amendments

to the Resolution of the Board of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic

«On Approval of the Regulation «On the Special Regulatory Regime»

of 12 August 2020 No. 2020-П-12/45-3-(НПА)

In accordance with Articles 5, 9 and 64 of the Constitutional Law of the Kyrgyz Republic «On the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic», the Board of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic resolves:

• 1. To introduce amendments to the Resolution of the Board of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic «On Approval of the Regulation «On the Special Regulatory Regime» of 12 August 2020 No. 2020-П-12/45-3-(НПА) (attached).

• 2. This Resolution shall enter into force on the day of its official publication.

• 3. To the Legal Department:

  • from the day of receipt of the relevant documents, within 3 (three) working days, to publish this Resolution on the official website of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic;

  • after official publication, to send this Resolution to the Ministry of Justice of the Kyrgyz Republic for inclusion in the State Register of Normative Legal Acts of the Kyrgyz Republic.

• 4. To the Digital Financial Technologies Department, within 3 (three) working days from the day of official publication of this Resolution, to bring it to the attention of commercial banks, the Legal Entity Union «Union of Banks of Kyrgyzstan», payment system operators and payment organizations, the Legal Entity Union «Association of Payment System Operators KG (KJ)», OJSC «Financial Company of Credit Unions», the Legal Entity Union «Association of Microfinance Organizations», the Legal Entity Union «National Association of Credit Unions and Cooperatives of Kyrgyzstan», microfinance organizations, credit unions.

• 5. To the «Secretariat of the Board» Division, from the day of receipt of the relevant documents, within 3 (three) working days, to bring this Resolution to the attention of structural subdivisions, regional departments and the Representative Office of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic in Batken Region.

• 6. To entrust control over the execution of this Resolution to the member of the Board of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic supervising the Digital Financial Technologies Department.

Chairman M. Turgunbaev

Annex
to the Resolution of the Board of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic of 17 December 2025 No. 2025-П-14/67-5-(НПА)

Amendments

to the Resolution of the Board of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic

«On Approval of the Regulation «On the Special Regulatory Regime»

of 12 August 2020 No. 2020-П-12/45-3-(НПА)

To introduce the following amendments to the Resolution of the Board of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic «On Approval of the Regulation «On the Special Regulatory Regime» of 12 August 2020 No. 2020-П-12/45-3-(НПА): in the Regulation «On the Special Regulatory Regime» approved by the above-mentioned Resolution:

• 1) to restate paragraph 1 as follows:

«1. This Regulation «On the Special Regulatory Regime» (hereinafter – the Regulation) determines the procedure for creating a special regulatory regime for piloting (testing) and implementing innovative technologies/solutions in the sphere of banking and payment operations/services (hereinafter – banking operations/services), including operations/services that are related to virtual assets backed by national or foreign currency (hereinafter – operations with virtual assets), in a limited controlled environment, and also determines the procedure for participation and requirements for participants of the special regulatory regime, including within the framework of state initiatives aimed at introducing digital technologies and enhancing financial accessibility.

The requirements of normative legal acts of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic (hereinafter – the National Bank) apply to participants of the special regulatory regime taking into account the conditions of the special regulatory regime and the specifics provided for by this Regulation and decisions of the committee of the National Bank whose functions include the introduction of the special regulatory regime (hereinafter – the Committee). The Committee, when considering an application for participation in the special regulatory regime, has the right to engage independent specialized experts.

Banking operations/services within the framework of the special regulatory regime must be ready for testing in real market conditions on a limited scale and at the stage of a minimum commercially viable product.

The innovative technologies/solutions being introduced in the sphere of banking operations/services within the framework of the special regulatory regime must meet the following criteria:

• the innovative technologies/solutions proposed for use in banking/payment operations and/or provision of banking/payment services are new in the sphere of banking operations/services and are aimed at expanding financial accessibility for users compared to traditional banking products;

• the carrying out of banking operations/services was restricted by normative legal acts of the Kyrgyz Republic;

• there are no restrictions on combining one's activity with other activity, including restrictions on the type and list of operations provided, according to the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic, except for operations with virtual assets;

• the operations and services are not regulated by normative legal acts of the Kyrgyz Republic and/or there is no direct prohibition on carrying out the operations;

• the banking operations/services are based on new technologies/solutions that have not previously been applied in the banking or payment sector);

• the innovative technology/solution being introduced has the potential to reduce risks, cut costs, and also enhance transparency and cybersecurity;

• the innovative technologies/solutions being introduced, including operations related to virtual assets, in the sphere of banking and payment operations/services are a supplement and do not replace the core business activity.

Compliance of the innovative technologies/solutions in the sphere of banking operations/services proposed for approbation (testing) with the above criteria is mandatory for the creation of a special regulatory regime.

The special regulatory regime is not intended and cannot be used as a means of circumventing the requirements of the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic and the requirements imposed on participants providing similar types of banking operations and/or services.

Within the framework of the special regulatory regime, the granting of preferences to individual legal entities that provide them with more favorable conditions for participation in special regulatory regimes and/or in connection with participation in special regulatory regimes is not permitted.»;

• 2) paragraph 2 shall be stated in the following wording:

«2. The main tasks of the special regulatory regime for the introduction of innovative banking operations and services, including operations related to virtual assets, are:

• reduction of legal uncertainty and legal risks for market participants;

• determination of acceptable and accessible rules for the pilot use of innovative banking operations and services, as well as operations with virtual assets;

• acceleration of the selection and introduction of innovative banking operations and services to the market;

• development of legal and other regulatory requirements for new social relations that have arisen as a result of the introduction of innovative banking operations and services;

• increasing the accessibility and customer focus of banking operations/services for consumers, as well as reducing the costs of their implementation, including tasks for testing new technologies in a real environment in order to assess their sustainability, applicability, and economic feasibility for effective integration into the banking infrastructure.»;

• 3) in paragraph 3:

  • the first paragraph after the words «and/or services» shall be supplemented with the words «, including operations with virtual assets,»;

  • the second paragraph after the words «banking operations» shall be supplemented with the words «, including operations with virtual assets,»;

• 4) paragraph 4-1 after the words «services or technologies» shall be supplemented with the words «, including operations with virtual assets,»;

• 5) in paragraph 5:

  • in the second paragraph, the words «/Co-applicant (if any)» shall be excluded;

  • the third paragraph shall be stated in the following wording:

«1) absence of violations of mandatory economic norms, prohibitions and restrictions, as well as unfulfilled enforcement measures in the sphere of countering the financing of criminal activity and the legalization (laundering) of criminal proceeds (hereinafter – CFT/AML), related to the innovative banking operations and/or services proposed for approbation (testing), as well as operations with virtual assets on the date of submission of the application;»;

• 6) in paragraph 6:

  • the fourth to seventh paragraphs shall be stated in the following wording:

«Approbation (testing) – the process of providing, researching, monitoring and analyzing a service/technology, with the aim of approbating the service in accordance with the requirements and conditions of the special regulatory regime.

Applicant – a legal entity supervised by the National Bank that has submitted an application for the creation of a special regulatory regime for the introduction of innovative banking operations and services/technology, including operations with virtual assets, and their further testing.

Co-applicant – a legal entity that, together with the Applicant, has sent to the National Bank an application for testing innovative banking operations and services/technologies, including operations with virtual assets, within the framework of the special regulatory regime.

Participant of the special regulatory regime – the Applicant and the Co-applicant (if any), carrying out testing of innovative banking operations and services, including operations with virtual assets, in accordance with the conditions of the special regulatory regime.»;

• the twelfth paragraph shall be stated in the following wording:

«Definitions and terms in the part concerning innovations and virtual assets correspond to the definitions and terms according to the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic. Depending on the type of operation, service/technology undergoing testing within the framework of the special regulatory regime, the main definitions and terms may be contained in the technical specification for the operation, service/technology.»;

• 7) paragraph 7 shall be stated in the following wording:

«7. The application for the creation of a special regulatory regime (hereinafter – the Application) shall be submitted by the Applicant and the Co-applicant (if any) to the National Bank. Only commercial banks, payment system operators and payment organizations may act as the Applicant in the provision of operations with virtual assets.

In the special regulatory regime for testing similar operations and services or applied technologies during the conduct of operations and provision of services, simultaneous participation of several participants of the special regulatory regime is allowed, taking into account paragraph 14-1 of this Regulation, in the following cases:

• if the initiator of the special regulatory regime is the National Bank;

• if no more than 6 (six) months have passed since the start date of the special regulatory regime for similar tested operations and services.

At the same time, the period of simultaneous participation of participants of the special regulatory regime cannot exceed the period of the existing special regulatory regime testing a similar operation and/or service.»;

• 8) paragraph 8 shall be stated in the following wording:

«8. The Application shall include:

• an application in the form of Appendix 1 to this Regulation, drawn up on the letterhead of the Applicant, with a request for the creation of a special regulatory regime in accordance with this Regulation, containing an inventory of the documents attached to the application, with the signature of the head and certified by the seal of the Applicant and the Co-applicant (if any), in accordance with the requirements of the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic;

• information about the Applicant and the Co-applicant (if any) in the form of Appendix 2 to this Regulation and the written consent of the Co-applicant;

• information about the operation, service/technology in the form of Appendix 3 to this Regulation, the testing of which is proposed by the Applicant;

• detailed information for assessing the need to create a special regulatory regime for the proposed service/operation being tested;

• notarized copies or electronic forms of the constituent documents of the Co-applicant (if any) with details for obtaining confirmation from the relevant state bodies, indicating the amount of the declared charter capital;

• duly certified accounting/financial statements of the applicant for the last reporting financial year;

• a document confirming payment for the license. The amount of the state fee for the license is determined in accordance with the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic;

• the original power of attorney for obtaining the license;

• written consent of the Co-applicant to the conduct of scheduled/unscheduled on-site inspections within the framework of the special regulatory regime by the National Bank, if the Co-applicant is not a legal entity supervised by the National Bank (Appendix 1-1);

• forecast economic calculations of the results expected from the proposed operation and service.

The requirement to provide constituent documents and accounting/financial statements does not apply to persons supervised by the National Bank acting as a Co-applicant (if any).";

• 9) the first sentence of paragraph 9 after the words "services/technology" shall be supplemented with the words "with justification of the innovativeness of the product";

• 10) the fourth paragraph of paragraph 11 shall be set out in the following wording:

"- conducts an examination of the normative legal acts of the Kyrgyz Republic for the possibility of introducing innovative technologies/solutions into banking operations/services, including operations with virtual assets, within the framework of the current requirements of the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic.";

• 11) paragraph 12 shall be set out in the following wording:

"12. If during the consideration of the Application it is established that the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic does not prevent the provision of the service to the Applicant (Co-applicant) or licensing norms are provided for in the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Applicant (Co-applicant) shall be sent a corresponding explanation.";

• 12) paragraph 14 shall be supplemented with the seventh, eighth and ninth paragraphs of the following content:

  • "- a special regulatory regime has been initiated for testing similar operations and services or technologies used in conducting operations and providing services, and more than 6 (six) months have passed since its start date;

  • in case of submission of documents that do not meet the requirements of this Regulation, or are incomplete, more than 3 (three) times, or in violation of the established deadlines.

The application of the Applicant who has received a letter of refusal to create a special regulatory regime indicating the reasons for refusal, resubmitted within 6 (six) months from the day of the official refusal to consider documents on a similar issue, shall not be subject to consideration.";

• 13) the first paragraph of paragraph 14-1 shall be set out in the following wording:

"14-1. Acceptance of applications for the creation of a special regulatory regime for testing banking operations/services and operations with virtual assets that are already provided by another entity(ies) within the framework of the special regulatory regime shall be carried out with the additional provision of the following information:";

• 14) in paragraph 15:

  • the first paragraph shall be set out in the following wording:

"15. The Committee, on the basis of the considered documents included in the Application, adopts the following decisions:";

• the third paragraph after the words "on the issuance" shall be supplemented with the words "or on the refusal of issuance";

• shall be supplemented with a paragraph of the following content:

"- on the suspension or revocation of the license for conducting banking operations/services and operations with virtual assets, within the framework of the special regulatory regime, upon detection of violations of the requirements of the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic, the requirements of the technical specification and/or the occurrence of an emergency situation/incident during the testing process or before the introduction of relevant amendments to the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic and (or) normative legal acts of the National Bank in case the testing is recognized as successful. The participant of the SRR must surrender the temporary license within 30 (thirty) working days and complete payments and settlements (finality) of payments with other participants of the payment system.";

• 15) paragraph 20-1 shall be set out in the following wording:

"20-1. When conducting the special regulatory regime, Participants are obliged to comply with the requirements for risk management, for the implementation of the "know your client" policy, requirements in the field of AML/CFT, observance of banking secrecy, confidentiality and protection of personal data, protection of the rights and interests of consumers and ensuring the security of operations.";

• 16) paragraph 22-1 after the words "for conducting banking operations" shall be supplemented with the words ", as well as operations with virtual assets";

• 17) paragraph 24 shall be set out in the following wording:

"24. Not later than 30 calendar days before the end date of the testing specified in the license, the Participant of the special regulatory regime may apply with a written application to the National Bank for an extension of the testing and indicating the reasons why such an extension is expedient, with the attachment of a report in accordance with paragraph 31 of this Regulation. Such an application shall be considered within a period not exceeding 15 working days.

In case of extension of the testing period, an additional decision of the Committee shall be issued indicating the new end date of the testing. An additional decision of the Committee on the extension of the testing period may be adopted not more than 1 (one) time and for a duration of not more than 6 (six) months. When extending the license period, the Committee has the right to make changes to the technical specification in one of the following cases:

• in the presence of risks that were identified during the inspection;

• when establishing commissions and tariffs for services above market;

• in the presence of signs of monopolization of the market, including the dominant position of the participant.

• and under other conditions aimed at protecting consumer rights and minimizing risk.";

• 18) paragraph 26 shall be set out in the following wording:

26. A participant of the special regulatory regime has the right to begin testing from the date specified in the license. The participant has the right to withdraw from testing before the start date specified in the license by sending a corresponding application to the National Bank no later than 5 (five) business days before the start date of testing.

The application for withdrawal before the start of testing must contain:

• the license details (number, date of issue), information on the start date of testing;

• a reasoned justification indicating the reasons (technical unreadiness, operational risks, information security risks, compliance risks, market inexpediency, other), with supporting documents attached (if available);

• confirmation of the absence of operations with consumers within the framework of the special regulatory regime;

• confirmation of readiness to surrender the license and the absence of financial obligations to third parties within the framework of the tested service;

• contact details of the responsible person of the Participant.

The Committee, based on the results of consideration of the application, adopts a decision in the manner established by this Regulation and sends a notification to the Participant. In the event of satisfaction of the application, the license is terminated, and the provisions of paragraph 30 of this Regulation concerning the surrender of the license are applied to the Participant.";

19) supplement with paragraphs 26-1 - 26-5 of the following content:

26-1. The participant has the right to early withdrawal from testing by a reasoned application to the National Bank if one or more of the following grounds exist:

• identification of significant risks of violation of the rights and (or) interests of consumers (including exceeding the threshold values of incident/complaint indicators established by the technical specification);

• identification of critical vulnerabilities and (or) information security incidents creating a threat to the security of operations, if it is impossible to eliminate them within a reasonable time;

• impossibility of complying with the requirements in the field of PFP D/LPD, maintaining confidentiality and protecting personal data, and protecting the rights and interests of consumers;

• termination (cancellation) of contracts with key counterparties and (or) infrastructure providers critically necessary for the provision of the service;

• impossibility of achieving the key quantitative and qualitative indicators provided for by the technical specification (below the minimum thresholds defined in the technical specification and (or) the decision of the Committee), based on the results of at least two consecutive reporting periods;

• economic inexpediency of continuing testing;

• other circumstances of insurmountable nature preventing the safe and conscientious continuation of testing.

26-2. Notification of early withdrawal during the testing period shall be submitted no later than 10 (ten) business days before the expected date of termination of testing. In the event of a threat of harm to the rights and (or) interests of consumers, a threat to the financial stability of the Participant, as well as in case of critical information security incidents, the application shall be submitted immediately, simultaneously with the introduction by the Participant of measures to suspend operations and protect clients.

The notification must contain:

• the license details and the decision of the Committee (if any) on extending the testing periods;

• justification for withdrawal from testing, with the attachment of relevant materials;

• information on the scale of testing as of the date of the application (number of clients, number and volume of operations, unfinished operations/applications, balances and obligations);

• an early termination plan indicating the timelines and procedure for informing consumers, returning funds and (or) fulfilling obligations, settling disputes, closing/cancelling contracts, operating a hotline for consumers, archiving and protecting data, complying with the requirements in the field of PFP D/LPD and on the storage of accounting logs;

• information on the implemented/planned measures to reduce risks for consumers and the financial stability of the Participant;

• contact details of the responsible person of the Participant.

26-3. The National Bank considers the application for withdrawal from testing and, if necessary, requests additional information. Based on the results of the consideration, the Committee adopts a decision on the early termination of testing and revocation of the license, and also, if necessary, establishes the conditions for early termination aimed at protecting the rights and interests of consumers and reducing risks (including the timelines for informing, the procedure for completing settlements, additional requirements for disclosure of information and reporting). A corresponding notification is sent to the Participant.

26-4. In the event of early withdrawal at the initiative of the Participant, the provisions of paragraphs 30, 35-1 and 35-2 of this Regulation are applied. The participant, within the period established by the Committee, completes settlements and fulfillment of obligations to consumers and third parties, informs consumers, surrenders the license and submits to the National Bank a final report on early termination indicating the reasons and measures taken to minimize risks.

26-5. Early termination of testing at the initiative of the Participant, with conscientious fulfillment of the obligations provided for by this Regulation and the technical specification, recognition by the Committee of the sufficiency of measures to protect the rights and interests of consumers and the absence of violations, does not entail recognition of the testing as unsuccessful in accordance with paragraph 29 of this Regulation.";

20) paragraph 31 shall be stated in the following wording:

31. No later than 30 (thirty) calendar days before the expiration of the license or upon achievement of the criteria with quantitative and qualitative testing indicators established in the technical specification, the Participant of the special regulatory regime shall send to the National Bank a report on the testing results (hereinafter - the report), including:

• information on the period (start/end) of the provision of services;

• information on the quantitative and qualitative indicators achieved during the testing, in accordance with those specified in the conditions of the technical specification and the reasons for the discrepancy (if any);

• description of the problems encountered by the Participant of the special regulatory regime during testing, and the measures taken, including proposals for consideration of introducing amendments to the technical specification;

• assessment of the demand for the service by consumers with a documentary description (survey, questionnaire, etc.);

• indication of the provisions of normative legal acts that may impede the further provision of the service;

• information on the facts of consumer complaints related to the provision of the service with a copy of the log in paper or electronic form;

• information on the risks that materialized during testing and the measures taken;

• a completed form in accordance with Appendix 4 to this Regulation;

• proposals for further normative regulation of the banking operation, supported by justification, analysis and statistics;

• proposals for further normative regulation of the banking operation, including on minimizing risks."

21) paragraph 36 shall be stated as follows:

"36. If the testing is recognized as successful, the Committee issues a recommendation to the relevant structural subdivision of the National Bank on the development of a draft normative legal act eliminating the obstacle to the provision of services/operations that have passed testing.

The National Bank, before the start of introducing amendments to the legislation and/or normative legal acts, may, if necessary, conduct a survey of market participants/consumers within 15 (fifteen) working days from the day the Committee issues a decision on the interest in implementing the product/service on the official website of the National Bank and by other methods determined by the Committee.";

22) supplement with paragraph 36-1 of the following content: "36-1. If the testing is recognized as successful in accordance with paragraph 34 of this Regulation and after the entry into force of the corresponding normative legal act of the National Bank and (or) amendments to the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic allowing the tested operations/services to be carried out on a permanent basis, the Participant is obliged within 60 (sixty) calendar days to obtain the corresponding license for carrying out banking operations/services in accordance with the normative legal acts of the National Bank and to surrender the previously issued license granted within the framework of the special regulatory regime.";

23) supplement with Chapter 10 of the following content:

"Chapter 10. Introduction of a special regulatory regime at the initiative of the National Bank

42. The National Bank, for the purposes of developing the introduction of innovations, increasing competition and accessibility of financial services, has the right to initiate the creation of a special regulatory regime (hereinafter - the initiative special regulatory regime) without a preliminary Application from potential participants. The decision to launch the initiative special regulatory regime is taken by the Committee.

43. The notification on the initiative special regulatory regime is posted on the official website of the National Bank and includes:

• the goals, timelines and expected results of the initiative special regulatory regime;

• description and list of operations/services allowed for testing;

• list of requirements and restrictions indicating the success criteria, including (if necessary) requirements for PFPF/LPF, consumer protection and cybersecurity;

• timelines and procedure for accepting applications from participants and selection criteria;

• contact details of the authorized structural subdivision.

44. Applications for participation in the initiative special regulatory regime are submitted in the form and within the timelines established by the National Bank, with the attachment of the documents provided for in paragraph 8 of this Regulation, taking into account the specifics of the draft technical specification.

45. Selection of participants of the initiative special regulatory regime is carried out by the Committee based on the results of assessing the compliance of applicants with the requirements of this Regulation and the additional criteria specified in the notification on the initiative special regulatory regime. Based on the selection results, the Committee takes the decisions provided for in paragraph 15 of this Regulation.

46. The technical specification of the initiative special regulatory regime is approved by the Committee and is an integral part of the issued license.

47. Information on initiative special regulatory regimes, including goals, timelines and results, shall be posted on the official website of the National Bank. The results are considered in the manner provided for in Chapter 7 of this Regulation.

48. The initiative special regulatory regime is conducted within the period established by the decision of the Committee, and is subject to extension and (or) termination in the manner provided for in Chapters 5 and 6 of this Regulation.".