The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) has established a separate entity to lead the development and implementation of the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital tenge.
According to an official statement on Sept. 15, the National Payment Corporation (NPC) is a reorganization of the Kazakhstan Center for Interbank Settlements. The new body will oversee the national payment system, including interbank clearing services, money transfers and digital identification.
The NPC will also be responsible for the development of “digital financial infrastructure,” including the implementation of the digital tenge.
Development of the digital tenge started in February 2023, with a launch deadline set for 2025. Back then, NBK deputy governor Berik Sholpankupov explained the bank’s vision of a “collaboration between traditional finance and DeFi” that could increase financial inclusion and support international trade.
Currently, the CBDC pilot in Kazakhstan is in a controlled environment pilot phase with real consumers and merchants. One of the principal partners for the project is the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance. The company supports the pilot with its technical solution, BNB Chain.
In June, Binance announced the launch of a regulated digital asset platform in Kazakhstan in partnership with the local Freedom Finance Bank, allowing users to transfer fiat funds to their accounts on the platform.
Seven Democratic US Senators have sent letters to ten of the country’s biggest Bitcoin ATM operators urging them to address fraud against elderly Americans.
Italy’s migration deal with Albania will be on the agenda as the prime minister meets his counterpart in Rome on Monday, after appointing a former police chief to tackle people smuggling.
Sir Keir Starmer has signalled he is “interested” in the plan under which Tirana will accept asylum seekers on Italy‘s behalf while their claims are processed.
While he admitted it was “early days” in the rollout of the policy, he indicated he was open to pursuing a similar scheme for Britain.
Talking before the trip, the prime minister said his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni “has of course got some strong ideas and I hope to discuss those with her”.
Asked whether he would consider pursuing an agreement similar to the one Italy has struck with Albania, Sir Keir replied: “Let’s see. It’s in early days, I’m interested in how that works, I think everybody else is.
“It’s very, very early days.”
On the visit, the prime minister will be joined by the UK’s new Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt.
The pair will tour the National Coordination Centre for Migration to see how Italy responds to irregular migration.
Mr Hewitt, the former National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) chair, will lead a new international effort to destroy criminal smuggling gangs, the government says.
He stepped down as chair of the NPCC in April 2023 after a four-year term. During the pandemic, he delivered several addresses to the nation from Downing Street as the “voice of policing”.
Sir Keir said of the appointment: “No more gimmicks. This government will tackle the smuggling gangs who trade the lives of men, women and children across borders.
“Martin Hewitt’s unique expertise will lead a new era of international enforcement to dismantle these networks, protect our shores and bring order to the asylum system.”
Mr Hewitt said: “For too long, the criminal gangs who smuggle people through Europe have abused our borders in the name of profit, and they are responsible for the deaths of scores of vulnerable, innocent people.
“We will dismantle them, bring them to justice and prevent them from using exploitation and deceit to fill their pockets.”
At least 45 people have died in Channel crossings so far this year.
More than 21,000 people crossed the English Channel in small boats between January and September this year, government figures show.