Currency exchange offices serve the public by buying or selling foreign currency in cash, so that they must meet certain requirements to protect the rights of financial services consumers.

The security system and equipment of the exchange office is carried out in accordance with requirements established in the Rules for arranging security system and equipment of premises of the second-tier banks, non-resident banks branches of the Republic of Kazakhstan, National Post Operator, legal entities that undertake the sole activity which is the collection of banknotes, coins and valuables, as well as the legal entities operating exclusively through exchange offices on the basis of the foreign currency exchange license of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan approved by Resolution of the Board of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 14 dated February 24, 2020.

Also, in accordance with the Rules, a cashier desk of the exchange office is equipped with a video surveillance system that records and stores a 90 (ninety) calendar days information on technical devices that backup the video data archive and protect the archive from the deleting and editing, while in the video surveillance zone there are the cashier desk and the client zone, and the corresponding devices are installed in the places that ensure the absence of interference with the video surveillance.

A legal entity entitled to carry out the exchange operations with foreign currency in cash, in running the exchange office activities, ensures that the requirements for the premises, equipment, and personnel of the exchange office established by the Rules are met.

An automated exchange office in its exchange operation ensures the implementation of the function of determining the authenticity of banknotes in the following ways:

• check for compliance of the visible image on both sides of the national currency banknote of the Republic of Kazakhstan with official description posted on the official Internet resource of the National Bank;
• check for presence of ferromagnetic components in the series and numbers printed with a special paint;
• check the banknotes in ultraviolet light (the control of the paper luminescence and others).

To obtain a license and annex thereto, the exchange office sends the following documents through the e-government web portal:

1. an electronic application for obtaining a license for exchange operations with foreign currency in cash and annexes thereto in the form in accordance with Annex 1 to the Rules;
2. an electronic copy of the charter;
3. an electronic copy of the license fee payment document for the right to undertake certain activities, except for the payment through the gateway of "electronic government";
4. an electronic copy of certificate of the second-tier bank or non-resident bank branch of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the presence of the bank account in foreign currency;
5. an electronic copy of a document of the second-tier bank or non-resident bank branch of the Republic of Kazakhstan (including an extract of the money transactions at the client's bank accounts), confirming the money credit to the bank account of the exchange office as a contribution to the authorized capital in accordance with the requirements of paragraph 8 of the Rules that had been issued not earlier than 30 (thirty) calendar days before the date of submitted application for the license and (or) annex thereto;
6. an electronic copy of a certificate from the second-tier bank or non-resident bank branch of the Republic of Kazakhstan, confirming that the cashier has completed the training in foreign currency in cash operations, or an electronic copy of a document provided for by the Labor Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated November 23, 2015 and confirming the employee's work record for at least 6 (six) months as a cashier for foreign currency in cash operations (except for the automated currency exchange office);
7. an electronic copy of document disclosing the source of origin of the contribution to the authorized capital of the exchange office (loan agreement, property sale and purchase agreement, income statement, other documents disclosing the source of origin of the contribution to the authorized capital of exchange office).

The license and annex thereto are issued within twenty working days through the web portal of "electronic government" from the date of the submission of the full package of documents.

To obtain an annex to the license in effect for the additional exchange office to be opened, the exchange office sends the following documents through the e-government web portal:

1. an electronic application for the Annex to the foreign currency exchange license in effect for the additional exchange office to be opened in the form in accordance with Annex 2 to the Rules;
2. an electronic copy of document of the second-tier bank or non-resident bank branch of the Republic of (including an extract of the money transactions at the client's bank accounts), confirming the money credit to the bank account of the exchange office as a contribution to the authorized capital in accordance with the requirements of paragraph 8 of the Rules that had been issued not earlier than 30 (thirty) calendar days before the date of submitted application for the license and (or) annex thereto; or an electronic copy of financial statements as of the first day of the month of filing an application for annex to the license in effect for the additional exchange office to be opened in the form in accordance with Annex 2 to the Rules, which confirms the compliance of authorized capital of the exchange office with the established requirements, taking into account the additional foreign currency exchange office;
3. an electronic copy of a certificate of the second-tier bank or non-resident bank branch of the Republic of Kazakhstan, confirming that the cashier has completed the training foreign currency in cash operations, or an electronic copy of a document provided for by the Labor Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated November 23, 2015 certifying the employee's work record for at least 6 (six) months as a cashier for foreign currency in cash operations (except for the automated exchange office);
4. an electronic copy of document disclosing the source of origin of the contribution to the authorized capital of the exchange office (loan agreement, property sale and purchase agreement, income statement, other documents disclosing the source of origin of the contribution to the authorized capital of exchange office).
5. an electronic copy of the document confirming technical characteristics and compliance of the automated exchange office with the requirements established by the Rules (except for the exchange office).

The annex to the license is issued within ten working days through the web portal of "electronic government" from the date of the submission of the full package of documents.

Exchange office shall have the right to carry out buy and sale refined gold bullion operations through their exchange offices. It is possible to replenish the cashier desks of the exchange office by purchasing the refined gold bullion from natural persons and from the National Bank.

When buying or selling the refined gold bullion, the exchange office checks the integrity of special packaging and protective elements of the refined gold bullion using a technical means that controls the luminescence in ultraviolet light, as well as using an optical device. The device must provide at least 10 (ten) times magnification.

In case there is no refined gold bullion at the exchange office cashier desk, the sale price information is not posted on the information stand of the exchange office. If there is no national currency in cash at the exchange office cashier desk, the buy price information for the refined gold bullion is not posted on the information stand of the exchange office. 

Ii has to be known that the exchange office carries out the buy and sale of the refined gold bullion in a sealed special package. The refined gold bullion sale with unsealed special packaging, as well as without special packaging is not allowed.

Also, the people can turn in the refined gold bullion for buyback that had been issued by the National Bank not earlier than in the year 2017 with the unsealed special packaging and (or) without special packaging, as well as the refined gold bullion issued by the National Bank before the year of 2017 to the exchange offices that have a contractual relationship with the National Bank for the buyback.