Non-cash money has become the main driver of money supply growth in Kyrgyzstan

The money supply in Kyrgyzstan’s economy continued to grow by the end of 2025, with the key trend being the shift from cash to non-cash payments.

The monetary base—all the money issued by the National Bank of the Republic—stood at 380.8 billion KGS at the end of December. This represents an increase of nearly 30% over the year. The main reason for this was an increase in commercial banks’ deposits held at the National Bank.

At the same time, cash holdings barely grew—by only 3.6%. This is because banks have been issuing less cash—a decrease of nearly 29%—while the public and businesses are increasingly using non-cash payments and putting money into savings.

A broader indicator—the money supply (M2X), which includes all money in the economy—reached 964.6 billion KGS, increasing by 43.3% over the year. The main driver of this growth is the increase in the country’s foreign assets, primarily due to gold. International reserves rose, partly due to high gold prices on the global market.

Domestic factors, on the other hand, slightly restrained money supply growth. For example, government deposits declined, which partially “withdrew” money from the economy.

At the same time, lending continued to grow—by 10% over the quarter. In other words, businesses and households continue to actively take out loans, and banks have sufficient resources to issue them.