Kazakhstan Tightens Loan Rules for Pensioners to Fight Fraud

Kazakhstan is making it harder for pensioners to take out loans to protect them from scammers who pressure victims into borrowing money, Orda.kz reports.

National Bank Governor Timur Suleimenov said pensioners and people approaching retirement age are already required to visit a bank branch in person when applying for a loan.

This allows a bank employee to assess the situation. If a customer appears to be acting under pressure from scammers, does not understand why they need the loan or says they are applying after receiving a phone call, the bank must refuse the application.

This is no longer optional. The employee must say: ‘No, dear customer, we will not give you this loan.’ Whether banks follow this requirement in every case is another question. The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market is responsible for checking this through its inspections. We should discuss the issue in more detail with our colleagues,Suleimenov said.

He added that broader measures should protect the groups most vulnerable to financial fraud, including young people who may not understand the risks of borrowing and older customers who are more easily deceived by scammers.

Original author: Ilya Astakhov

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