Description(meta): Thus, Freedom Bank Kazakhstan, a part of Freedom Holding Corp., a NASDAQ-listed finance and technology group, received the award in the category ‘Growth Driver for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)’.
MASTERING THE EDGE
In mid-October, Mastercard hosted the fourth edition of its flagship annual forum, EDGE 25, in Dubai. This year’s theme was ‘Commerce: Decoded’. The event brought together global and regional leaders to share their views on how innovation is transforming commerce and empowering businesses. Most recently, Freedom Bank received its EDGE Award.
EDGE 25, held over several days in mid-October, welcomed more than 500 Mastercard customers and partners from across the EMEA region (Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa). Key highlights included the launch of AI-driven Merchant Cloud – Mastercard’s next-generation, open platform for merchants. The forum participants also presented their latest advanced solutions, with the best of these being honored in several categories at the final EDGE Awards Ceremony.
Bank Innovations for SMEs
Thus, Freedom Bank Kazakhstan, a part of Freedom Holding Corp., a NASDAQ-listed finance and technology group, received the award in the category ‘Growth Driver for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)’. This highlights its leadership in the Kazakh digital arena and its commitment to empowering small and medium-sized businesses through tailored solutions and services.
In September, Freedom Bank became the first financial institution in Kazakhstan to fully digitize SME lending under the government-backed ????? (Orleu) program. Businesses can now complete the entire loan process online—from applying to receiving funds. Decisions are made within three hours; money is received in 24 hours. All documents are automatically generated and signed electronically.
AI-Driven World
And this is not the only one of the Freedom group’s AI-driven projects. Freedom Bank has been leveraging innovative technologies, including AI, for quite some time, spending millions of dollars on research and implementation. “Essentially, we are moving towards an AI-first strategy: it is no longer enough to be just a fintech institution. The time has come for AI banks,” Timur Turlov, the Founder and CEO of Freedom Holding, explains.
This vision is fully in line with the one shared by Prakriti Singh, Executive Vice President of Core Payments at Mastercard EEMEA, shared in the interview with ArabianBusiness.com on the eve of the Forum. “We cannot talk personalization without talking about agentic AI that is powering the next frontier of commerce,” says Prakriti. According to her, consumers are relying more on AI, rather than traditional tools, in their requests for highly personalized, consistent experiences. And the AI-driven solutions, these intelligent agents, know how best to meet these needs. “This signals the next evolution of digital commerce, with conversational AI delivering curated, contextual shopping experiences”, she concluded.
Intelligent Voice Assistant and Access to ChatGPT from Freedom
Freedom Holding’s latest achievement in this area was launched recently. It is a top-notch, advanced, AI voice-driven assistant for the bank’s business clients. Turlov presented the new service at the beginning of October at the Digital Bridge Forum in Kazakhstan. Now, users can just say their financial needs, and it’s done. It doesn’t matter if you withdraw funds, make payments, issue invoices, or calculate taxes. Besides that, customers now have free access to the full functionality of ChatGPT in Freedom’s banking app.
Freedom Holding Corp. and Freedom Bank
Freedom Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: FRHC) is an international fintech group founded by Timur Turlov, combining brokerage, banking, lifestyle and investment services under one digital ecosystem. Listed on NASDAQ, it operates across 22 countries including the U.S., Kazakhstan, and the EU.
Freedom Bank, part of the holding, is a digital bank offering deposits, loans, and investment products with seamless integration into Freedom’s fintech ecosystem.
Recent Comments