SINGAPORE & BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN -- With the support of the National Bank of Kyrgyz Republic, Interbank Processing Center (IPC), Kyrgyzstan’s national payment system operator, and Alipay+, Ant International’s unified wallet gateway, have launched international QR payments for users of the ELCARD Mobile app.

The launch was officiated by the Chairman of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Almaz Baketaev, Chairman of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic, said: “Our colleagues from IPC together with Alipay+ launched this project last year, and today we are bringing it into practice. Our citizens now have access to a payment system covering merchants worldwide. Wherever they are, they can make payments in any currency easily and without any complications. I would like to congratulate our citizens from now on, payments abroad have become truly simple and accessible.”

The launch marks a significant milestone in the continued development of Kyrgyzstan’s digital payment ecosystem and supports the country’s broader goals of advancing digital financial infrastructure and cross-border payment connectivity.

Interbank Processing Center (IPC), a subsidiary of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic, is the operator of Kyrgyzstan’s national payment system. IPC plays a central role in connecting the country’s banks and financial institutions through the national ELCARD payment standard. ELCARD Mobile, the digital wallet and mobile payment application of Kyrgyzstan’s national payment system, enables users to make local card and QR payments, access digital and financial services, and now to make cross-border payments.

Altymysh Turatbekov, Chairman of the National Interbank Processing Center, said: “We are taking another significant step in the development of Kyrgyzstan‘s digital financial ecosystem through our partnership with Alipay+. This is a strategically important step for Kyrgyzstan’s entire payments industry. It is about building a modern digital infrastructure for the country - one in which financial technologies become a natural part of everyday life: simple, seamless, and accessible regardless of borders. At IPC, our mission is not only in developing payment instruments, but in building a sustainable national digital platform capable of integrating Kyrgyzstan into the global financial ecosystem. Today's launch confirms that Kyrgyzstan is moving confidently in that direction.”

Through the partnership, users in Kyrgyzstan can now make seamless cross-border payments across the Alipay+ merchant ecosystem worldwide, using the ELCARD Mobile app to pay overseas in a familiar, secure and convenient way, without the need for additional payment services or applications.

Pan Yan, Head of Strategic Partnership for Alipay+, Ant International, said: “Through our partnership with IPC, and with the support of the National Bank of Kyrgyz Republic, we are proud to help bring greater global connectivity and convenience to users in Kyrgyzstan. At Ant International and Alipay+, we believe interoperable digital payment systems are essential to enabling inclusive growth, empowering consumers and helping local economies participate more fully in global commerce.”

As travel and cross-border commerce continue to grow, interoperable payment solutions are becoming increasingly important in connecting local payment systems with the global merchant ecosystem. The partnership with IPC further expands Alipay+’s growing collaboration with national payment systems across Central Asia, the Middle East and other emerging digital economies, including HUMO in Uzbekistan, mada in Saudi Arabia and BENEFIT in Bahrain. Alipay+ also collaborates with local fintech ecosystems to drive merchant acceptance in markets like Kazakhstan, and across the United Arab Emirates and Latin America.

Today, Alipay+ connects more than 2 billion user accounts through 50 international payment partners to more than 150 million merchants across 220 destination markets worldwide, including via more than 10 national payment schemes.

ELCARD is the national payment system of the Kyrgyz Republic, operated by the CJSC “Interbank Processing Center” (IPC). For more than 20 years, the system has been driving the development of cashless payments and connecting banks, payment organizations, and other financial institutions across the country within a unified payment ecosystem.

IPC is the operator of the National Payment System ELCARD and the Primary Operator of the National Payment System ELQR, and provides processing services for both national and international payment instruments.

The reliability and security of IPC’s services are confirmed by its compliance with the internationally recognized PCI DSS security standard.