PayRow and 8B Launch Phased Payments Partnership for GITEX AI Central Asia & Caucasus Kazakhstan

Kazakhstani cards accepted at GITEX Almaty 2026 from day one. Regional wallets and the national QR systems of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan join by 2027

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE, April 27, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- PayRow (payrow.ae), the UAE-based payment platform, and 8B, the Central Asian payments infrastructure company connecting the region's national QR rails to the world, today announced a strategic partnership to build a unified payment interface for GITEX AI Central Asia & Caucasus Kazakhstan – the exhibition taking place in Almaty on 4–5 May 2026 – and to expand it, edition by edition, into a full regional checkout by 2027.

For two days in May, Almaty becomes the meeting point for over 600 global exhibitors, 60+ countries and more than 10,000 professionals shaping the future of AI, fintech, cybersecurity, sovereign cloud and digital government. It is the headline event of Kazakhstan's officially declared Year of Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence.

Here lies a paradox the industry rarely talks about: at most global tech summits, the easiest thing is to talk on stage about frictionless cross-border commerce, and the hardest is to actually pay for a ticket from a local Kazakh, Uzbek or Kyrgyz bank account. PayRow and 8B have decided to close that gap as a phased project with a clear roadmap.

What goes live on 4 May – and what arrives by 2027
At the debut GITEX 2026, ticket purchases and every related payment – exhibitor packages, on-site services, partner bookings – will run through a single checkout accepting cards issued by leading Kazakhstani banks. Payments are supported through Zesta LLP, a licensed local payment organisation (License No. 02-23-179), ensuring full regulatory compliance.
By the 2027 edition, PayRow and 8B plan to bring Uzum, HUMO and Uzcard – along with the national QR systems of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan's ELQR – into the same checkout, turning a strong debut into a fully QR-native regional acceptance experience.
8B brings the Central Asian rails – its growing network of local card schemes and instant-payment connections, accessible through a single API. PayRow brings the UAE-anchored merchant infrastructure, settlement and acquiring. Together, these components form the foundation on which, by 2027, the region will pay at a flagship summit the way it pays at home.

Spokesperson statements
Ghanim Eid Bin Wogayeh, Acting CEO & Board Member, PayRow, said: "GITEX in Almaty is the right stage to demonstrate what a modern, regionally aware payment platform should look like. Too often, international events in emerging tech hubs default to a payments setup designed for somewhere else, and the friction lands on the local visitor. We are flipping that – step by step, and honestly. From day one of GITEX 2026, the unified checkout accepts cards issued by leading Kazakhstani banks. And we are not stopping there: by next year's edition, we plan to add Uzum, HUMO and Uzcard, along with the national QR systems of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan's ELQR. The UAE has built one of the world's most advanced cashless ecosystems; Kazakhstan and its neighbours are building theirs at remarkable speed. PayRow's role is to make sure those ecosystems meet at the merchant page, not just on a panel."
Bogdan Zadorozhny, Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer, 8B, added: "GITEX 2026 is the first step – we are showing that the infrastructure works and scales. By 2027, visitors from across Central Asia will pay with the local cards, wallets and QR services they already use at home, while merchants receive settlement through familiar local infrastructure. The bigger opportunity is making this regional acceptance seamless across national QR ecosystems."

Why this matters beyond one event
GITEX AI Central Asia & Caucasus Kazakhstan is hosted by the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in partnership with Astana Hub and the Akimat of Almaty, and organised by inD. Almaty is home to over 1,500 startups and roughly half of Kazakhstan's venture capital funds.
The PayRow–8B partnership shows what happens when private payment infrastructure moves at the same speed as government ambition: Kazakhstani cards in 2026, then regional wallets and QR systems in 2027. Discussions are underway to apply the same stack to other flagship Central Asian events throughout 2026.

Daria Kashurina
8B
+34 698 99 36 38
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