The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan has clarified the scope of the Stop-credit service, which allows individuals to voluntarily block bank loans and microcredits. Financial institutions must generally reject applications where the restriction is active, but statutory exemptions permit certain purpose-specific lending. For bank loans, the restriction does not apply to financing paid directly to a supplier for confirmed goods or services, refinancing of debt at the same bank, payment card credit limits of up to 150 monthly calculation indices, or KZT 648,750, and loans used solely to pay taxes, fines or enforcement proceeding debts. Similar exemptions apply to microcredits for direct supplier payments, refinancing at the same microfinance organization and payment of those public obligations. Pawnshop microcredits are excluded entirely. If a loan or microcredit is issued in breach of Stop-credit, the financial institution must write off the debt, correct the borrower’s credit history and refund amounts collected, while continuing to comply with all other lending requirements.

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