The licence itself names the services a firm may provide

An AFSA licence is not a general permission to do anything financial. Compare the Ordered activities on the register entry with what the firm is actually offering you, since a firm licensed for advising or arranging is not licensed to deal or to hold client assets. Source: https://afsa.aifc.kz/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Guide-on-the-Authorisation-process_February-2026.pdf

Licensed firms sit inside the AIFC and may serve clients elsewhere

An AFSA licence does not carry permission to operate in your own country. If a firm solicits you outside Kazakhstan, the protection you can rely on depends on the law where you are, and AFSA's remit stops at the AIFC entity. Source: https://afsa.aifc.kz/about-afsa-1/our-jurisdiction/

Recognised Non-AIFC Members are not authorised AIFC firms

A firm can accurately say it is recognised by AFSA and appears on an AFSA register while holding no AIFC licence and no AFSA conduct supervision. Check which register list the firm appears on: Authorised Firms or Recognised Non-AIFC entities. Source: https://afsa.aifc.kz/authorisation/authorisation-faqs/

Reports are registered in 5 business days, feedback in 3 months

These are the timelines to hold AFSA to after you report a firm, and they set expectations: this is a regulatory process measured in months, not a route to a refund in days. Source: https://afsa.aifc.kz/complaints/

Retail clients get a written agreement and key information

These are documents you can ask for and check before you deposit. If a firm claiming AFSA authorisation cannot produce a written client agreement and a fee breakdown, that gap is measurable against the rule. Source: https://afsa.aifc.kz/consumers/know-your-rights/

A licence certificate on a website is not proof of authorisation

Screenshots of certificates, licence numbers and regulator logos can be copied from a real firm's file. The only check that settles the question is the licence number looked up on the register you reached from the AFSA site. Source: https://afsa.aifc.kz/alert-fraudulent-impersonation-of-freedom-finance-global-plc-and-unauthorised-use-of-the-afsa-licence/

The register covers past withdrawals and suspensions as well

A firm can point to a licence it once held. Because the register records withdrawals and suspensions as well as live licences, a lapsed permission can be told apart from a current one. Source: https://afsa.aifc.kz/authorisation/authorisation-faqs/

A separate register now lists prohibited and restricted persons

Firm level checks miss the people behind a firm. This list lets a trader check whether a named director or employee is barred from holding office at any authorised firm or ancillary service provider in the AIFC. Source: https://afsa.aifc.kz/register-of-prohibited-and-restricted-persons/

A Representative Office licence covers marketing only

If the AIFC entity you are dealing with holds only this licence, it can introduce, promote and refer, and the service you buy is provided by a firm regulated somewhere else. Ask which entity holds your money and which regulator supervises it. Source: https://afsa.aifc.kz/authorisation/authorisation-faqs/

Offshore

AFSAThe Astana Financial Services Authority

The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) has regulated the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) since 1 January 2018. Its licence names the exact Regulated, Market or Ancillary services a firm may carry on in or from the AIFC, and every licensed firm appears on the AFSA Public Register with its licence number, licence status, issue date and ordered activities. Two facts are worth knowing before you fund an account: a firm holding Recognised Non-AIFC Member status is not an authorised AIFC firm, and a report sent to AFSA is registered within 5 Business Days with substantive feedback normally within 3 months.

About The Astana Financial Services Authority

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) was formed on November 12, 2012, when the Financial Services Authority Act, No. 33 of 2011, was passed by the Parliament of St.Vincent and the Grenadines. The purpose of this independent body, established by statutory provision, was to implement a single regulatory framework that would be used to regulate certain entities in the financial services sector.

The FSA would be responsible for administering, controlling, and overseeing the international financial services industry and domestic non-bank industries throughout the country.

Formation and Consolidation

About and how to use The Astana Financial Services Authority

How to verify a licence

Open the AFSA Public Register from the main menu of afsa.aifc.kz (Public Register), then choose the list that matches the firm: Authorised Firms for financial services firms, Ancillary Service Providers for legal, audit, accountancy and consulting firms, Recognised Non-AIFC entities, FinTech Lab Participants, Digital Asset Service Providers, or Registered entities. Search by company name or by licence number. A valid result returns six fields: Company name, License Number (in the form AFSA-A-LA-2026-0013), Status of the license (for example active), License issue date, Ordered activities, and a show more link with the full entry. Match all three of the firm's name, its licence number and the activities it is selling to you: the register lists the specific activities each licence permits, so a firm licensed only for Advising on Investments is not licensed to hold your money. Reach the register through the AFSA website itself rather than through a link in an email or on the firm's own site.

How to complain

Reports go to AFSA through the AFSA Hotline Services portal on afsa.aifc.kz or by email to the hotline address, and may be made by AIFC Participants, their employees, service providers and consultants, or any member of the public. AFSA registers the report within 5 Business Days, acknowledges it and gives it an initial review, then normally provides substantive feedback within 3 months, extended up to 6 months in complex cases. If the case is referred outside AFSA, high level status updates are generally provided every 60 Business Days unless disclosure is legally restricted. AFSA sets out what falls outside its remit: matters that do not involve a breach of Regulations or Rules it administers, matters under another regulator's jurisdiction, personal employment issues, and reports lacking sufficient detail to investigate. Anonymous reports are accepted, and AFSA states that an anonymous report lacking verifiable detail may be temporarily suspended.

Jurisdiction and scope

An AFSA licence authorises activities carried on in or from the AIFC, the 1,632 hectare area within the city of Astana set by presidential decree. Centre Participants must have a physical presence inside those boundaries. They may serve clients elsewhere in Kazakhstan in line with AFSA's rules, and in other countries in line with the law of the host state, so an AFSA licence is not by itself permission to operate in your country. A participant wanting an additional office outside the AIFC has to comply with the law where it establishes. AFSA's powers cover Centre Participants, their directors and Approved Individuals performing Controlled Functions.

What is protected

Protection under this regime comes from conduct and prudential rules rather than from a payout fund. Before providing a regulated service, an authorised firm must give the client key information including its name and address, its regulatory status, a breakdown of fees and charges and its complaints handling procedures. A retail client must have a written agreement with the firm setting out the rights and responsibilities of both sides, and receives a Suitability Report when given investment advice. Clients are classified at the outset as a retail client, a professional client or a market counterparty, and that classification sets how much assessment the firm must perform. For digital assets and derivatives, an enhanced appropriateness assessment applies, and where the firm concludes the service is not appropriate it must not offer it. AFSA has consulted on strengthening Client Asset safeguarding, external audit and crisis preparedness requirements. No investor compensation or guarantee fund with a stated per client cap was found among the official documents read.

Using this regulator

Check the licence number on the AFSA Public Register and read the Ordered activities column, not just the licence status. Ask which AIFC entity you are contracting with, since AFSA states that the display of an AFSA licence certificate does not by itself confirm that a website operator is authorised. If the firm describes itself as a Recognised Non-AIFC Member, it is a broker or dealer regulated elsewhere with access to the Astana International Exchange, and AFSA states it is not an authorised AIFC firm. If it holds a Representative Office licence, that permits marketing of services offered in another jurisdiction, not dealing or holding client money. Check the Register of Prohibited and Restricted Persons on the Notice Register for individuals barred from holding office at an authorised firm, and the Notice Register itself for licence suspensions and withdrawals. Keep your statements: a firm managing investments must send a confirmation note after each transaction, and monthly statements apply for accounts with uncovered open positions in contingent liability investments.

Good to know

The AIFC Fees Rules, which set the application and annual supervision fees for Regulated and Market Activities, are published on AFSA's legal framework portal rather than on afsa.aifc.kz, so no figure for a dealing or investment management licence is quoted here. The fee figures stated in this review are the Ancillary Services fees and the Registrar of Companies post-registration fees published on afsa.aifc.kz. Those two published post-registration figures differ: the Guidance on Post-registration and the post-registration FAQ state 50 USD online and 100 USD offline for standard entities, while the Application Process page states 100 USD online and 200 USD offline, so a firm should confirm the current amount with the SSP Calculator before paying. No compensation scheme, investor guarantee fund or retail leverage cap document was found among the official pages read, so no cap, exclusion or ratio is stated. The corpus pages d09 (Registration), d10 (Payment), d11 (Post-Registration) and d13 (Contacts) were not read in full because the context budget ran out, and no prior copy exists for the Guide on the Authorisation process beyond the archived February 2026 file, which is byte for byte identical to the current one.

Key insights and tips

Confirm the firm on the AFSA Public Register before funding

Key

It takes under a minute to check that a broker's claimed AFSA licence number exists, is active, and covers the service being sold to you. A licence that permits Advising on Investments does not permit holding your money.

AFSA states that all financial services firms in the AIFC must be authorised by AFSA, and directs the public to its Public Register to confirm the status of a firm or an individual. The register returns the company name, licence number, licence status, licence issue date and the activities the licence covers.

All financial services firms in the AIFC must be authorised by AFSA.

Quoted in Check if a firm is authorisedRead the source

You may verify the status of authorised ancillary service providers by visiting the AFSA Public Register: https://publicreg.myafsa.com/ancillary/.

Quoted in Warning noticeRead the source

Official documents examined

GuidanceGuidance on Post-registration (event-driven) applications to the Registrar of Companies
Version 14012025Fetched Aug 29, 2026View source
Licensing requirementsGuide on the Authorisation process: How to become authorised
Version V4_022026Fetched Aug 29, 2026View source
GuidanceAFSA launches consultation on proposed amendments to the AIFC Fees Rules
Version 16.07.2026Fetched Aug 29, 2026View source
GuidanceAFSA launches consultations on regulatory amendments to Asset Management, FinTech frameworks and targeted amendments to AIFC Rules

Licensed Brokers

Brokers authorized and regulated by this authority

5 Licensed Brokers

View All Licensed Brokers

About this information

The details on this page about The Astana Financial Services Authority were compiled from the regulator’s own official documents, its website and other public sources, and are presented as neutral, factual guidance.

If you believe something here is inaccurate, or you spot a critical problem, please let us know via Contact us.

AFSAThe Astana Financial Services Authority

About The Astana Financial Services Authority

Formation and Consolidation