“Nova” will not establish a traditional bank but will instead obtain a limited banking license. Specifically, it will not be able to provide loans to large businesses and will face certain limits on lending to individuals. At the same time, entering the banking market could be a major milestone in the company’s evolution and bring it one step closer to creating a super app.
Simplified License
The “Nova” group has decided to enter the banking market gradually. Although the company is acquiring a bank with a full banking license, it plans to surrender it and obtain a limited one—specifically for establishing a financial inclusion bank.
A financial inclusion bank (FIB) is a new concept in Ukrainian legislation. The Verkhovna Rada voted to establish this new type of bank in June 2025, and the relevant law is set to take full effect only at the end of this month. The goal of the FIB is to expand public participation in the financial market and ensure access to banking services for people living in remote villages and frontline territories where there are no bank branches, ATMs, or self-service terminals.
Any company that has an extensive network of branches throughout the country, experience serving a large number of customers, and meets the requirements of the National Bank of Ukraine—particularly regarding capital or the reputation of its owners—will be able to become an FFI. Under the law, such companies will be able to apply to the National Bank for a limited banking license. This license grants nearly all the rights and capabilities of conventional banks, albeit with certain restrictions.
Another important feature of financial inclusion banks is that they can provide services even outside their branches. The only exception is accepting cash to replenish a deposit: to perform such a transaction, the customer must visit a financial inclusion bank branch.
The idea of creating a financial inclusion bank (FIB) originally stemmed from the desire of Igor Smelyansky, head of the state-owned “Ukrposhta,” to establish a postal bank. However, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) refused to issue a license to the state postal operator. Subsequently, the regulator blocked Ukrposhta’s acquisition of “PIN Bank,” which had been confiscated from sanctioned Russians; the bank was ultimately removed from the market and then sold to a Polish investor.
Despite disagreeing with the idea of creating a bank based on Ukrposhta, the National Bank acknowledged that the level of access to banking services for the population in Ukraine is low. Therefore, they decided to draft legislative changes that would allow companies with an extensive branch network to provide banking services. “Nova Poshta” decided to take advantage of these changes, as sources in the banking market told EP. This information was subsequently confirmed by the NBU.
What is “Nova” buying?
BTA Bank is the smallest in Ukraine in terms of assets and capital. According to the NBU, as of May 1, 2026, its assets amounted to UAH 294.9 million, of which UAH 170 million were government bonds. Its capital stood at UAH 204.3 million. In 2025, the bank reported a net profit of UAH 623,000, while in the first four months of 2026, it posted a loss of nearly UAH 7.1 million. Only 640 Ukrainians hold accounts at the bank, totaling UAH 25.9 million. The bank has only one branch, located in Kyiv. Its headquarters are also located at the same address.
BTA Bank is a subsidiary of the Kazakh company of the same name, BTA Kazakhstan. Currently, it is an asset management company, but until 2015, it was a bank with an extensive network of branches in Kazakhstan and representative offices in the countries of the former Soviet Union. The owner of both the Kazakh and Ukrainian BTA is businessman Kenes Rakishev—owner of the Fincraft Group holding company, through which he manages stakes in a number of oil-producing companies in Kazakhstan. In 2025, Rakishev ranked 23rd on the list of Kazakhstan’s wealthiest individuals, according to the local edition of Forbes. The publication estimated his assets at $435 million.
“We had three banks: in Belarus, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan. When BTA Bank Kazakhstan surrendered its license and became an asset management company, we decided to sell all our subsidiary banks with licenses and are gradually moving toward that goal,” Rakishev said in a comment to Interfax-Kazakhstan in 2020.
The Ukrainian “BTA” was one of the last banks in the Kazakh company’s global structure. The institution came closest to changing ownership in 2022. At that time, it was nearly acquired by another Kazakh financial group—Kaspi. The latter is known for having built a super app in its home country—an ecosystem that combines a bank, a marketplace, a ticket booking system, tax payment services, and other features into a single mobile app.
