Acquiring and QR payments: what banks charge for accepting cards

The share of cashless payments in Kyrgyz retail exceeded 60% in 2026, and the number of QR payments grew 2.3 times over the year according to the NBKR. For a business this means choosing between a classic POS terminal, a QR code and online acquiring, each with different fees and settlement speed. We compare bank tariffs.

Merchant acquiring (terminal)

• Optima Bank: 1.5% for Optima cards, 2% for others, terminal free with turnover from 100,000 som.
• MBank: 1.2% on all cards, terminal rental 500 som a month or free from 150,000 som turnover.
• KICB: 1.4–1.8%, free terminal, next-day settlement.
• Demir Bank: 1.3–1.7%, Apple Pay and UnionPay support.
• Eldik Bank (Elcard): 0.8% on Elcard, 1.8% on Visa and Mastercard.

QR payments

The NBKR's national QR system lets you accept payments from every Kyrgyz bank app via a single QR code. The fee is 0.3–0.7%: MBank 0.5%, Optima 0.6%, Bakai 0.4%, Eldik 0.3%. No equipment is needed — a printed code or a phone screen. Funds arrive instantly. The downside is that the buyer must open an app, which slows service at peak times.

Online acquiring

For online shops and services: a 2–2.8% fee, connection via API or ready-made modules for Tilda, WooCommerce and 1C-Bitrix. The leaders are MBank (2%), Optima (2.3%) and the payment services Pay24 and O!Dengi (2.5–2.8%, but connected in a day). All must support 3-D Secure.

What to choose

• A café or shop with receipts under 500 som: QR as the main channel plus an MBank terminal for card payers — average fee 0.8%.
• A clothing or electronics shop with receipts from 5,000 som: a low-rate terminal; Optima and MBank instalment support matters.
• Online retail: MBank online acquiring plus QR for pickup payments.

With 800,000 som monthly turnover, the difference between an expensive and a cheap setup is up to 9,000 som a month. Compare acquiring terms of 12 banks and apply in the Business section on FinMarketKG.