Kazakhstan: Mobile Operators to Require Biometric Data for SIM Card Purchases

Kazakh mobile operators will soon be required to collect biometric data from subscribers when purchasing SIM cards. A draft order from the Ministry of Digital Development has been published on the “Open NPA” portal, Orda.kz reports.

The full text of the document is not available on the portal, so its content can only be assessed from the brief description provided by the Ministry. It concerns amendments to certain laws on the development of the financial market, the protection of consumers of financial services, and telecommunications.

The changes proposed in the draft order include:

• When purchasing ten or more SIM cards in one name, the mobile operator may require confirmation that the subscriber genuinely needs that many numbers
  
• Biometric identification will be carried out when registering a new subscriber
  
• Operators will be required to provide additional functionality in their customer support systems to receive complaints from subscribers about fraudulent calls

The draft will also establish procedures for interaction between mobile operators and the National Bank’s anti-fraud center.

Public discussion of the document will continue until August 29.

Original Author: Nikita Drobny