The Short Answer
Kaspi.kz stock (KSPI) is not halal under Sharia screening. While Kaspi's payments and marketplace segments are permissible in isolation, a substantial and central part of its profitability comes from consumer lending, buy-now-pay-later, and other interest-bearing credit products — riba-based banking, which is a core business-activity disqualifier.
Current quantitative Sharia screen
Based on 20-F figures for the period ended 2025-12-31; calculated 2026-07-15.
6,699.89 / 11,081.748
2,082.962 / 11,081.748
8,075.305 / 11,081.748
1,579.346 / 4,046.074
- Financial
- Fails
- Overall
- Fails
Interest-bearing liabilities/assets is 60.46%, receivables-plus-cash/assets is 72.87% and interest revenue is 39.03% of revenue; conventional lending independently fails.
- Financial
- Fails
- Overall
- Fails
Deposit-taking, interest-bearing lending and disclosed interest revenue are core to the business; asset ratios also exceed examined limits. This is not an index-membership claim.
- Financial
- Fails
- Overall
- Fails
Interest revenue is 39.03% of reported revenue and the entity is a conventional lender; this is a calculation against SAC ratios, not an official classification.
- Financial
- Not calculated
- Overall
- Fails
A licensed historical market-cap series is not stored; the core banking failure is independent of market capitalization.
Business-activity disclosure
Kaspi.kz combines payments and marketplace services with a deposit-taking fintech and consumer-lending business. Interest-bearing loans, BNPL and deposit economics are central to the listed company's revenue and operations, so the activity screen fails.
Limitation: The 20-F provides consolidated segment and interest-revenue disclosures but does not transform every payment, marketplace, loan or customer contract into a scholar-approved classification.
Purification
Kaspi fails at the core business-activity level; disclosed interest revenue is evidence of the business model, not a purification percentage.
Inputs, assumptions and primary sources
- Amounts are KZT billions converted from Kaspi.kz's KZT-million presentation in the December 31, 2025 Form 20-F.
- Interest-bearing liabilities combine customer accounts of KZT 6,561.950 billion, due to banks of KZT 24.474 billion, debt securities issued of KZT 51.050 billion and subordinated debt of KZT 62.416 billion; the deposit-taking model is not treated as an ordinary industrial issuer.
- Cash and cash equivalents are KZT 903.143 billion and investment securities and derivatives are KZT 1,179.819 billion.
- Loans and advances to customers are KZT 7,172.162 billion and annual revenue is KZT 4,046.074 billion.
- Interest revenue calculated using the effective-interest method is KZT 1,579.346 billion, or 39.03% of reported revenue; interest-based lending is core business activity rather than incidental income.
- Kaspi is a foreign private issuer; the SEC 20-F is used as the primary filing source without changing the article URL.
This is a reproducible financial screen, not a fatwa. A failed total-assets screen can coexist with a pass under a market-cap methodology. ZakatInvest keeps the qualitative assessment separate so numerical thresholds do not erase material context.
Interest income and interest-based lending are core to the company's economics rather than incidental, far exceeding the 5% interest tolerance, so KSPI fails both the business-activity and financial screens.
Sharia Screening Methodology
Islamic scholars use several criteria to screen stocks:
- Business activity screen: Is the company's primary business halal?
- Debt ratio: Total debt / market cap must be under 33%
- Interest income: Interest income / total revenue must be under 5%
- Haram revenue: Revenue from haram sources must be under 5%
- Receivables ratio: Total receivables / total assets must be under 49–70% (varies by board)
Kaspi.kz's Business Activity
Kaspi.kz JSC is a Kazakhstan-based super-app with three core segments:
- Payments: Digital payments and transfers — permissible in isolation
- Marketplace: E-commerce and merchant services — permissible in isolation
- Fintech: Consumer lending, BNPL, and interest-bearing credit — riba-based
The decisive point is the fintech segment: interest-based lending is a core part of how Kaspi makes money.
Why KSPI Is Not Halal
1. Interest-Based Lending Is a Core Business
A central part of Kaspi's revenue and profit comes from interest-based consumer lending and BNPL (riba). This is a core business-activity disqualifier that cannot be cured by purification.
2. Deposit-Taking, Lending Institution
Kaspi operates as a deposit-taking, lending institution, so interest income far exceeds the 5% tolerance and the financial screens fail.
3. Permissible Segments Are Bundled In
The permissible payments and marketplace segments are bundled with the impermissible lending business within a single listed entity, so an investor cannot isolate the halal portion.
Current quantitative Sharia screen
Kaspi.kz's 2025 Form 20-F (figures in KZT millions) reports:
- Interest-bearing liabilities / total assets: 60.46% (KZT 6,699.890bn / KZT 11,081.748bn), including customer accounts, bank funding, issued debt and subordinated debt.
- Cash + investment securities / total assets: 18.80% (KZT 2,082.962bn / KZT 11,081.748bn).
- Loans to customers + cash / total assets: 72.87% (KZT 8,075.305bn / KZT 11,081.748bn); the loan book is a business-model indicator, not ordinary trade receivables.
- Interest revenue / total revenue: 39.03% (KZT 1,579.346bn / KZT 4,046.074bn), far above the 5% benchmark.
Methodology interpretation
Kaspi's payment and marketplace segments do not isolate the listed company from its deposit-taking and consumer-lending business. The 20-F shows interest revenue at 39.03% of revenue and interest-bearing liabilities at 60.46% of assets; the banking activity is a core disqualifier, and this analysis is not an official certification by a screening provider.
Bottom Line
Kaspi.kz (KSPI) is not halal for Muslim investors. Although its payments and marketplace segments are permissible in isolation, the decisive issue is that interest-based consumer lending and BNPL are core to the company's economics — a business-activity disqualifier that cannot be cured by purification. Muslim investors seeking emerging-market fintech exposure should look to payment-only or marketplace companies whose revenue does not depend on interest-based lending.
For permissible fintech and payments alternatives, consider screening Visa (V) and PayPal (PYPL), and review our guide to haram investments to avoid.
KSPI fails Islamic screening because interest-based lending is core to its business. Use our screener to find halal alternatives.
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