There are numerous questions regarding the mobile application of Otbasy Bank, as it holds a monopoly in the housing savings system. Almost every second resident of Kazakhstan has or has had a deposit here. Currently, Otbasy Bank's capital amounts to 654 billion tenge, while its assets total 4.2 trillion tenge. It’s no surprise that public expectations of the bank are high.
Upon downloading the application from Google Play, there are a plethora of negative reviews. While the older version was relatively normal and user-friendly, the updated version is quite complicated to navigate, to the extent that even the bank's employees struggle to understand it. This is notable considering the application has 2.8 million users. The editorial team at inbusiness.kz attempted to investigate what is wrong with this service.
Google Play is inundated with angry comments. Many users express that the application is poorly designed and frequently crashes during biometric and code-password authorization. Additionally, the app fails to display the amount that a user has sent to the account. In response to this negativity, bank employees calmly state that a new version of the Otbasy Bank Lite application is in development.
However, if one clicks on the new version and examines its content, similar to the previous version, there are more negative reviews than positive ones. There were, of course, a few who mentioned that the application has improved slightly. But the number of such comments could be counted on one hand.
Silence in Reporting
If the bank's mobile application is "limping" (remember, at the end of summer, bank clients could not make early mortgage repayments through the app), naturally, questions arise: who is the actual developer and how much did the development cost the bank?
No data regarding the purchase of application development services could be found in the bank's financial reports for 2023 and 2024. Only services related to the modernization of the information system, comprehensive IT services "turnkey," and website information support services were discovered.
However, interesting details regarding the application were "shed light on" in a recent interview where the chairwoman of Otbasy Bank, Lyazzat Ibragimova, mentioned that over the past two years, the bank has hardly engaged external resources.
"Previously, for example, we developed 50% of new functions ourselves and ordered 50% from the market," she states. "However, now due to the need to quickly respond to errors and make changes, we have completely focused on our own developments. This is quite challenging, and the application still has its shortcomings. Currently, we are transitioning to a new platform called Light, while the old version continues to operate for the convenience of clients. The design is also changing since the current interface leaves much to be desired. I believe we are at a historic moment: from 2.7 million users, we have become very recognizable, and clients have high expectations for the mobile application – this is quite normal."
Self-Sufficient Model
Lyazzat Ibragimova also reminds that Otbasy Bank remains a state bank. If there suddenly arises a need to hire several new developers and increase the salary fund, it requires coordination and inclusion in the development plan. But it’s well known that the system is highly bureaucratized.
For instance, to hire 20 new developers, Otbasy Bank needs to coordinate the vacant positions with the national holding "Baiterek." This issue is then reviewed by four other ministries. Only after several months will the bank be able to obtain these additional positions. By that time, the task may no longer be relevant.
Furthermore, to implement a function in the mobile application, Otbasy Bank must announce a tender a year in advance, write specifications, and if the bank wishes to change anything, it will be impossible. Therefore, the bank has fully transitioned to a model where developers, as bank employees, independently maintain and create everything available on the portal.
What is the Cost?
According to the chairwoman, the mobile application cost the bank 1 million dollars, while other major banks spend around 200 million dollars on mobile developments.
This sum, let's say, is quite substantial. However, to truly understand whether this is a lot or a little, it’s worth examining the market offerings for mobile application development for banks:
- The Kazakhstani IT company Kulenkov Group stated that everything depends on the scope of work, and on average, the cost can range from 50 million tenge and higher, with a work duration of up to 4-6 months.
- The Russian IT specialists Purrweb offer to develop a successful banking application in 2024 for 5.4 million rubles (26 million tenge).
- The American IT agency Rishestsoft charges between 100 thousand and 1.5 million dollars for the development of high-complexity mobile banking for large banks or companies. This is one of the leading providers of mobile application services with over 15 years of experience in creating high-quality mobile applications. Several other IT companies also provide application development services for banks, with varying prices.
However, considering the amount spent by the state-owned Otbasy Bank, one can assume that it is entirely feasible to create a mobile application for 1 million dollars that would not elicit such a level of complaints.
It is not difficult to calculate that 1 million dollars is currently equivalent to approximately 525.82 million tenge at the current exchange rate.
Updated:
On Friday, December 13, Otbasy Bank released a statement announcing that the bank is transitioning to the updated mobile application Otbasy Bank, which had been operating in test mode under the temporary name Otbasy Bank Lite. On December 17, 2024, bank clients who previously downloaded the Otbasy Bank Lite application will need to update it. The application will display the corresponding prompt, according to the announcement.
Previously, the editorial team at reported on what would happen to the deposits of Otbasy Bank in the event of the cancellation of state premiums.
Image F1 Digitals from Pixabay