Nikoloz Geguchadze: Halyk Bank Enjoys the Support of a Strong Financial Group

An affiliate organization of Halyk Bank Kazakhstan - a financial services provider in Kazakhstan, appeared on the Georgian banking and financial market back in 2008. Since then, Halyk Bank Georgia has carved a niche for itself within this competitive market as a provider of interesting products and services for Georgian customers. Likewise, Halyk Bank has been contributing to the development of Georgia’s banking and financial system.

Georgia, shared interesting facts about the bank with Diplomat Magazine. He talked to us about the history of the establishment, the flexibility and advantages of payment instruments implemented by Halyk Bank.

When and how did the idea of establishing an affiliate of Halyk Bank Kazakhstan in Georgia come?

Halyk Bank is a member of the largest financial group which consists of banking as well as financial institutions in Kazakhastan. The group has over 96 years of experience in the global industry. Since 2005, shares of Halyk Bank have been traded on the London Stock Exchange and the bank has grown in reputation as one of the most sustainable, most successful, and strong financial groups, not only in Kazakhstan but also outside the country.

Apart from Kazakhstan, the Bank is presented in five other countries, and in January of 2008, it has entered the Georgian market. As you know, the year 2008 was difficult for Georgia and the whole world in general. The financial crisis was aggravated by military actions on Georgian territory. Despite that hard situation, Halyk Bank continued to operate, highlighting its resilience and strength. In general, Halyk Bank of Kazakhstan does not make easy decisions about whether to enter or exit a country. In the Georgian market, we have established active operations since 2010.

Historically, Georgia and Kazakhstan have always cooperated and shared friendly relations. The cooperation between both countries has even strengthened in recent years. Consequently, similar processes have contributed to the establishment of the Halyk Bank in Georgia. Georgia’s banking and financial market, despite its size, attracted the bank’s attention with simplicity and transparency.

Halyk Bank is a universal bank whose main focus I would say, is small and medium businesses. Recently, we started developing retail banking. We have a strong intention to collaborate with Halyk Bank other affiliates in terms of offering different products.

How would you rate the banking sector in Georgia in general, what has changed since 2008?

The banking and financial sector in Georgia is one of the most developed when compared to other sectors. New technologies or products are usually introduced successfully to the market and they often reflect new trends in the world. The market has become more competitive lately, which is very good as it helps boost and improve business performance.

It is this competition that creates exciting and attractive new products. All banks are forced to follow the existing trend and provide the client with the right product, otherwise it will become very difficult for them to keep up.

The quality or service of banks varies from year to year. Of course, today’s level of development is higher, and five years from now, there will be even more development. Normally, this is the right trend, and the direction that the Georgian banking system will follow to keep it from regressing.

In today’s competitive market, what are the advantages of Halyk Bank comparing to other banks?

On the one hand, there is really a serious competition in the Georgian industry, but on the other hand, our great advantage is that Halyk Bank enjoys the support of a strong financial group that is fully developed, resilient and strong. When there’s any innovation, or the introduction of any new international standard, implementation and maintenance to our practice, having a huge and strong financial team by your side is a reliable force. We strive to make the most of Halyk Bank’s achievement over the years, and this allows us to provide our clients and a whole Georgian population in general with new interesting products and services.

We have elaborated a new strategy for 2020 already. We do not intend to slow down the course so, we are going to further develop and raise awareness.

How many branches of Halyk Bank are currently operating in Georgia?

There are currently eight branches in Georgia. They are located in Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Batumi.

International credit rating agency, Fitch Ratings affirmed Halyk Bank Georgia’s Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) - “BB” (Outlook revised from Stable to Positive), Long-term rating - “Positive”, short-term IDR - “B”, Support rating - “3”. What does this mean for the bank?

To begin with, we are a part of a very serious financial group that is recognized by all major financial institutions in the world. Halyk Bank Kazakhstan is not only focused on its own ratings. It is a priority for them to have high standards for the members of their group as well. Although we are much smaller in size than our founding bank, we have a lot of similar regulatory documentation. This documentation is, of course, adapted to the Georgian legislative basis and regulations. Therefore, the group operates on a unified platform.

When we talk about relationships with our partners, the amount of money in our deposits, the credibility or the various guarantees we give, it is very important to know who you are dealing with and whether their business is transparent. Fitch Ratings helps us to enhance customer confidence in our institution.

In terms of card technology offers, Halyk Bank is one of the most prominent banks in Georgia. Specifically, what does your bank have to offer?

Card technologies, digital technologies and remote banking are tomorrow’s banking system. We try our best to offer our clients a simple and interesting product each time. As for card payments, we are main and associate members of VISA and MasterCard. Therefore, we are always focused on introducing new products. For example, we were one of the first ones to introduce mPOS terminals. Smaller terminals of this type are actively used by taxi drivers, delivery agents, and those working in areas where large post terminals are difficult to carry. This device is much more flexible and easy to operate. It was impossible to pay for taxi services with your card in Georgia recently. Although it is still not accessible for everyone today, it is available in many taxis with our support. For example, taxis at the airport are equipped with our payment system, mPOS. Any traveler arriving in Georgia, who does not have cash on arrival can easily pay with their card. Our introduction of contactless mPOS, made Georgia the first country in Eastern Europe with such technology and product.

The second interesting product is watch2pay, which I use on my own. Often when I go somewhere, on a trip and I don’t want to have cash, I can pay anywhere with this watch. watch2pay are very popular among young people, especially students. Along with its flexibility, it also has high safety functions. What are your plans for the future? 2020 will be one of the turning points in the history of Halyk Bank. We are going to introduce a lot of good novelties, and one of these products will soon be announced to our clients, and to whole Georgia. Periodically, we are going to offer innovative services to customers in different directions, and we will also develop our remote banking services. We have excellent internet banking systems. Halyk Bank is also privileged to be able to make currencies from different countries available to the population due to the advantage of the opportunity we have from being represented in six countries. A lot of Georgians live in these countries, and the citizens of these countries live in Georgia as well. Our goal is to offer them products and services that will be convenient, simple and interesting.