Who was the first to enter the Kyrgyz market—Mastercard or Visa?

According to data from the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan on the registration of international payment systems in the country, Mastercard officially appeared on the Kyrgyz market before Visa.

According to the NBKR's register of international payment systems, Mastercard was registered on May 24, 2016, while Visa was registered on August 2, 2016. Thus, formally, Mastercard became one of the first global card systems to receive permission to operate in the country's market.

Overall, 2016 was a key year for the formation of Kyrgyzstan's international card infrastructure. During that period, the NBCR registered several major payment systems at once. The first on the list was Russia's Zolotaya Korona (March 31, 2016), followed by Mastercard, UnionPay, American Express, and Visa.

Later, other systems were added to the list: Russia's Mir (2017), Japan's JCB (2021), and Uzbekistan's HUMO and UZCARD systems, registered in 2025.

At the same time, the actual structure of the country's card market differs significantly from the date of the systems' appearance. According to the NBRK, as of June 30, 2025 (the most recent data available), there were 10.3 million bank cards in circulation in Kyrgyzstan. This is 28.8% more than a year earlier.

Of these:

• the national Elkart system — 3.65 million cards (35.5%);
• international payment systems — 6.64 million cards (64.5%).

Among international systems, Visa is the absolute leader. There are 6.55 million Visa cards in circulation, which corresponds to 63.7% of the country's total card market.

For comparison:

• Mastercard — 86,200 cards (0.8%);
• Zolotaya Korona — 2,400 cards.

Bishkek remains the most active region for bank card use, with 6.1 million cards, or 59.3% of the total market. It is followed by the Osh region (11.1%) and the Jalal-Abad region (9.1%).