Blog 8B

Latest news in the world of finance from 8B

GITEX Almaty: Central Asia Has a 24-Month Window to Build Sovereign Payment Rails

At GITEX AI Central Asia & Caucasus in Almaty, leaders from S1LKPAY and 8B outlined why payments are becoming strategic infrastructure, and why Central Asia has just two years to define its own cross-border future through interoperable systems, stablecoins, and AI-driven routing.

05.05.2026

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GITEX Almaty: Central Asia Has a 24-Month Window to Build Sovereign Payment Rails

8B and PayRow bring local payment acceptance to GITEX AI Central Asia & Caucasus

8B has partnered with PayRow to build a unified payment interface for GITEX AI Central Asia & Caucasus Kazakhstan, taking place in Almaty on 4–5 May 2026. The rollout is phased. It starts with local card acceptance in 2026, and expands into a full regional checkout by 2027.

27.04.2026

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8B and PayRow bring local payment acceptance to GITEX AI Central Asia & Caucasus

Wero and EPI Drive Europe’s Unified Payment System Forward

Europe is preparing for fundamental changes in its payments ecosystem, with Wero positioned at the center of this transformation. The initiative reflects a broader push toward a more integrated and sovereign European payment infrastructure.

17.04.2026

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Wero and EPI Drive Europe’s Unified Payment System Forward

8B at Money20/20 Asia in Bangkok

8B joins Money20/20 Asia in Bangkok. Meet our Co-Founder & Chief Innovation Officer Bogdan Zadorozhny and explore collaboration opportunities in fintech.

16.04.2026

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ELQR QR Payment System in Kyrgyzstan Surpasses 1 Trillion KGS in Transactions

Kyrgyzstan’s national QR payment system, ELQR, has surpassed 1 trillion KGS in transaction volume, marking a major milestone in the country’s digital payments journey. Since its launch, the system has evolved into a fully interoperable infrastructure connecting banks, payment providers, and mobile applications, while paving the way for future cross-border integrations.

10.04.2026

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Markets and consumers

8B and PayU Partner to Bring UPI and Indian Payment Methods to Central Asia

Indian tourists visiting Central Asia can now pay via UPI, Net Banking, Indian Debit and Credit cards. Central Asian merchants gain access to India’s payment infrastructure. The partnership marks the first structural yet one-way bridge between two economies whose tourism relationship is growing faster than the infrastructure to support it.

08.04.2026

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Case studies

Uzbek Tourists Can Now Pay in Kazakhstan with HUMO Cards — No Dollars, No Intermediaries

Uzbek travelers in Almaty can now pay directly with HUMO cards, thanks to a new cross-border payment bridge between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, bypassing global card networks and USD conversion entirely.

26.03.2026

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Markets and consumers

The Quiet Shift: Why Countries Are Building Payment Systems Beyond Visa and Mastercard

Governments worldwide are building sovereign payment systems. Not because global networks failed, but because relying on foreign infrastructure comes at a strategic cost.

24.03.2026

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Industry highlights

8B Launches Weixin Pay Acceptance Across Kazakhstan

8B has launched Weixin Pay acceptance across Kazakhstan, allowing merchants in tourism, aviation, retail, and hospitality to accept payments from Chinese travelers and access the broader Weixin/WeChat ecosystem. The launch comes amid record growth in Chinese tourism and addresses a key infrastructure gap in cross-border payments.

18.03.2026

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Case studies

Ethiopia Flips the Switch

In Feb 2026 Ethiopia launched EthioPay‑IPS, a full-scale instant payments system for 120 million people with 32 banks, one QR standard, real‑time transfers, aliases and bulk disbursemnts, deployed as a government-backed National Digital Payment Strategy, signalling nationwide infrastructure build-out rather than a pilot.

12.03.2026

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Markets and consumers

Necessity Digitized: How Egypt’s Currency Crisis Built a Cashless Future

A severe currency crisis forced rapid digital-payment adoption in Egypt, raising financial inclusion from 27% (2016) to 74.8% by 2024, showing necessity and not marketing drove scale.

10.03.2026

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QR Payments In Europe

Europe has world-class payment rails but lacked an interoperable QR standard, leaving cross-border QR payments fragmented until the EPC’s MSCT QR (EPC024-22), Wero, PSD3 and a CEN standardisation push began harmonising things in 2026. Still, Europe is 5–10 years behind Asia and risks losing users or cross-border flows if standardisation moves too slowly.

09.03.2026

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Markets and consumers

Blog 8B

GITEX Almaty: Central Asia Has a 24-Month Window to Build Sovereign Payment Rails

8B and PayRow bring local payment acceptance to GITEX AI Central Asia & Caucasus

Wero and EPI Drive Europe’s Unified Payment System Forward

8B at Money20/20 Asia in Bangkok

ELQR QR Payment System in Kyrgyzstan Surpasses 1 Trillion KGS in Transactions

8B and PayU Partner to Bring UPI and Indian Payment Methods to Central Asia

Uzbek Tourists Can Now Pay in Kazakhstan with HUMO Cards — No Dollars, No Intermediaries

The Quiet Shift: Why Countries Are Building Payment Systems Beyond Visa and Mastercard

8B Launches Weixin Pay Acceptance Across Kazakhstan

Ethiopia Flips the Switch

Necessity Digitized: How Egypt’s Currency Crisis Built a Cashless Future

QR Payments In Europe

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