Halyk Bank partnered with Alty to validate ecosystem expansion beyond core banking. By integrating travel services directly into its existing app, the bank proved that lifestyle services could scale inside a trusted banking environment.
travel GMV growth from 3.9B KZT
4.6B
About the Client
Halyk Bank is one of Kazakhstan’s largest financial institutions, serving millions of retail customers through its mobile banking platform
As digital ecosystems such as Kaspi set new expectations for integrated services, Halyk sought to expand beyond traditional banking and explore new revenue streams inside its existing app.
At this stage, the bank’s priority was not adding features, but determining how lifestyle services could be introduced without fragmenting the user experience or weakening trust in core banking.
Kazakhstan · Millions Customers
The Challenge
Halyk faced a strategic question rather than a technical one
Halyk needed to determine whether non-banking services could exist inside a regulated banking environment without weakening customer trust, complicating core journeys, splitting usage across standalone apps, or adding operational overhead.
There was no internal proof this model would work.
Launching a separate travel app risked ecosystem fragmentation, and embedding services directly into the bank risked confusing customers or diluting the core product. A wrong structural decision could slow adoption and undermine the SuperApp strategy.
Determining where and how non-banking services should live within the ecosystem
Avoiding fragmentation between standalone and integrated experiences
Encouraging spending and credit usage without disrupting familiar banking behaviour
Proving that lifestyle services could generate measurable commercial impact inside the app
Objective
The engagement focused on designing the logic of integration, testing hypotheses, and embedding services in a way that strengthened the core banking experience.
The teams evaluated two potential directions
Standalone travel application
Native integration inside the existing banking app
Analysis showed that integration would better leverage Halyk’s existing authentication, payment instruments, and credit infrastructure while reducing adoption friction.
The decision was made to treat travel as an ecosystem module rather than an independent product, allowing customers to access it using their existing banking credentials and financial tools.
This validated an operating principle: new services should extend the bank’s ecosystem, not compete with it.
The Results
Ecosystem expansion model validated inside the banking app
GTBank restored its ability to evolve the mobile platform confidently without risking system stability
Infrastructure modernization reduced long-term maintenance costs while improving platform stability and scalability
App rating — up from 3.4★
4.7
Active users by 2025
~3M
Year-over-year growth
+19%
Matches industry leaders
90%
Lifestyle services drive growth when embedded directly into core banking behaviour
SuperApp ecosystems increase retention by keeping spending inside the platform
One-click financial products convert better than standalone credit offers
Integrated design and engineering enable new revenue without added friction
