Welcome to e-Irad, the public services portal of the ISEZ. HelpIrad tiliРусскийEnglish
e-IradPublic services portal of the Irad Special Economic ZoneGovernment of the Irad Special Economic ZoneDepartment of Infrastructure and Communications

Full procedure Open a currency exchange booth

A booth in a city of the ISEZ buying and selling United States dollars, euros, Russian roubles, Kazakh tenge and Kyrgyz and Uzbek som for Iradi som, at rates set each day within the permitted range of the official rate of the Bank of Irad.

Cash currency exchange is a licensed activity under the Bank of Irad Act 2008 and the Bank's Regulation 2009/1. A licence is issued to a firm on the Register of Firms with a minimum capital of 168,000 som (US$ 20,000 at the official rate of 8.40) kept on a blocked account, for one booth at one address. The booth meets the Bank's technical requirements, is guarded by a company licensed under the Private Security Services Act, and has a cash register with a currency module and cashiers certified by the Bank. Each day the booth sets rates within 2% of the official rate and reports its operations to the Currency Control Department by 10:00 on the next working day. The Bank recalled in its statement of 9 October 2026 that currency exchange outside licensed banks and exchange offices is an offence, and publishes the register of licensed exchange offices on its site.

Pay in and block the minimum capital

Blocked capital account at Talasbank and the bank's certificate of the capital.

  1. 1. Open a blocked capital account and pay in the minimum capital
    Where: Talasbank (any branch)
    168,000 som, or its equivalent in dollars at the official rate, by transfer from the firm's account. The capital is not bought in cash: the limit of US$ 300 a month on som-to-dollar conversions applies to the founders as to any customer. The capital stays blocked while the licence is valid and is not counted in the costs on this page.
    Bring: Certificate of registration of the firm, Charter of the firm, ID card of the director of the firm
    You receive: Bank's certificate of the minimum capital on a blocked account
    Cost: opening of the blocked account, IS 150
    Time: 20–90 min in the queue, 30–60 min at the counter, 2–5 days until the next step

Fit out the booth to the Bank's technical requirements

Technical requirements of the Bank of Irad, certified safe and detector, fire-safety inspection.

  1. 2. Obtain the Bank's technical requirements for the address
    Where: Licensing and Supervision Department, Bank of Irad
    Issued for one address. The booth has at least 4 m² of floor, a steel door opening inwards, a counter window of bullet-resistant glass of class 3 with a tray, a safe of class III bolted to the floor, an alarm button, and a camera that records the counter and the customer's face and keeps 30 days of recording.
    Bring: Lease or ownership certificate of the premises, Floor plan of the premises, 1:100, Certificate of registration of the firm
    You receive: Technical requirements of the Bank of Irad for the booth at the address
    Cost: IS 60 per booth
    Time: 20–60 min in the queue, 10–20 min at the counter, 5–10 days until the next step
  2. 3. Have the safe and the banknote detector certified
    Where: Iradstandart, State Agency for Standards, Metrology and Certification
    The detector checks the US dollar, the euro, the rouble and the som in ultraviolet and infrared light and by magnetic marks. Tenge and Kyrgyz and Uzbek som are checked by eye, against the Bank's album of specimens, which is bought separately at entrance C of the Bank.
    Bring: Technical requirements of the Bank of Irad for the booth at the address, Invoice of the foreign supplier
    You receive: Certificates of the safe (class III) and of the banknote detector, Album of banknote specimens of the Bank of Irad (six currencies)
    Cost: certification of the safe and detector, IS 240 per booth
    Cost: album of specimens, IS 85 per booth
    Time: 20–60 min in the queue, 15–25 min at the counter, 5–10 days until the next step
  3. 4. Have the booth inspected for fire safety
    Where: State Fire Inspectorate (At the booth)
    The inspector checks that the steel door can be opened from inside without a key, which the Bank's requirements do not forbid, and that the extinguisher does not block the tray.
    Bring: Technical requirements of the Bank of Irad for the booth at the address, Lease or ownership certificate of the premises, Floor plan of the premises, 1:100
    You receive: Fire-safety inspection report on the booth
    Cost: IS 150 per booth
    Time: 0 min in the queue, 20–40 min at the counter, 5–15 days until the next step

Arrange the security of the booth

Contract with a licensed private security company, alarm test and police registration.

  1. 5. Sign the security contract with a licensed company
    Where: Licensed private security companies
    The company's licence under the Private Security Services Act is attached to the contract with its number. The contract covers the alarm button (response within 7 minutes in Talas and Nurzhan, 15 in Iyık Janyl), a guard during opening hours if the booth is not inside a bank or a shopping centre, and the collection of the cash at closing.
    Bring: Technical requirements of the Bank of Irad for the booth at the address, Lease or ownership certificate of the premises, Certificate of registration of the firm
    You receive: Contract with a licensed security company
    Cost: per booth per month, IS 2,400 per booth, per month
    Time: 0–30 min in the queue, 30–60 min at the counter, 1–5 days until the next step
  2. 6. Have the alarm button connected and tested
    Where: Licensed private security companies (At the booth)
    The test is made by the company's dispatcher at an hour not announced to the cashier, within the first week. A test answered late is repeated, and the contract does not begin until a test is answered on time.
    Bring: Contract with a licensed security company
    You receive: Act of connection and test of the alarm button
    Cost: connection of the alarm button, IS 300 per booth
    Time: 0 min in the queue, 30–60 min at the counter, 2–7 days until the next step
  3. 7. Register the booth with the police
    Where: City police: licensing and registration section
    The police record the address, the security company and the opening hours. The booth does not open before 8:00 or close after 20:00; opening hours shorter than those registered are notified in writing in advance.
    Bring: Contract with a licensed security company, Act of connection and test of the alarm button, Lease or ownership certificate of the premises, ID card of the director of the firm
    You receive: Police registration card of the booth (address, security company, hours)
    Cost: IS 60 per booth
    Time: 30–120 min in the queue, 10–15 min at the counter, 5–10 days until the next step

Have the cashiers certified by the Bank of Irad

Course and examination for exchange cashiers at the Bank of Irad, entrance C.

  1. 8. Enrol the cashiers on the Bank's course for exchange cashiers
    Where: Licensing and Supervision Department, Bank of Irad (Talas, Bank of Irad, Liberty Boulevard 2, entrance C)
    Hours: Courses from the first Tuesday of the month, 9:00–16:00
    Two days at entrance C: currency regulations, identification of customers, the features of the banknotes of six currencies, and the daily report. Courses begin on the first Tuesday of the month; the list closes on the Friday before.
    Bring: ID card or passport of the applicant, Two photographs, 3.5 × 4.5 cm, Certificate of registration of the firm
    Cost: IS 450 per cashier
    Time: 10–30 min in the queue, 840–960 min at the counter, 7–30 days until the next step
  2. 9. Cashiers sit the examination
    Where: Licensing and Supervision Department, Bank of Irad (Talas, Bank of Irad, Liberty Boulevard 2, entrance C)
    Written, then at the counter, with twenty banknotes of which some are counterfeit; the number is not told. A cashier who accepts a counterfeit fails, and may sit again after the next course.
    Cost: IS 0
    Time: 0–30 min in the queue, 120–180 min at the counter, 3–7 days until the next step
  3. 10. Collect the certificates of the exchange cashiers of the Bank of Irad
    Where: Licensing and Supervision Department, Bank of Irad (Talas, Bank of Irad, Liberty Boulevard 2, entrance C)
    You receive: Certificates of the exchange cashiers of the Bank of Irad
    Time: 10–40 min in the queue, 5–10 min at the counter, 1–3 days until the next step

Obtain the licence for an exchange office

Licence of the Licensing and Supervision Department of the Bank of Irad, one for each booth.

  1. 11. Pay the fee at Talasbank
    Where: Talasbank (any branch)
    With Form BI-0401, from the firm's current account. The fee is not paid from the blocked capital account, which is not available for payments.
    Cost: licence fee, per booth, IS 2,500 per booth
    Time: 20–60 min in the queue, 5–10 min at the counter, 0–1 days until the next step
  2. 12. Submit the application with the full set of documents
    Where: Licensing and Supervision Department, Bank of Irad
    The Bank checks the founders and the director against its records; a person who has been a founder of an unlicensed exchange business in the last five years is not a founder of a licensed one. The Bank recalled in its statement of 9 October 2026 that exchanging currency outside licensed banks and exchange offices is an offence.
    Bring: Certificate of registration of the firm, Charter of the firm, ID card of the director of the firm, Bank's certificate of the minimum capital on a blocked account, Technical requirements of the Bank of Irad for the booth at the address, Certificates of the safe (class III) and of the banknote detector, Fire-safety inspection report on the booth, Contract with a licensed security company, Act of connection and test of the alarm button, Police registration card of the booth (address, security company, hours), Certificates of the exchange cashiers of the Bank of Irad, Lease or ownership certificate of the premises
    Time: 30–120 min in the queue, 30–45 min at the counter, 30–45 days until the next step
  3. 13. Receive the Bank's inspectors at the booth
    Where: Licensing and Supervision Department, Bank of Irad (At the booth)
    The inspectors compare the booth with the technical requirements, open the safe, test the alarm button with the security company on the telephone, and photograph the rate board, which must be empty.
    Time: 0 min in the queue, 60–120 min at the counter, 5–10 days until the next step
  4. 14. Collect the licence for an exchange office, with the entry in the register of licensed exchange offices
    Where: Licensing and Supervision Department, Bank of Irad
    The licence is displayed in the original in the window facing the customer; a copy is not a licence. The booth may open on the day after the entry appears in the register of licensed exchange offices on the Bank's site.
    You receive: Licence for an exchange office, with the entry in the register of licensed exchange offices
    Time: 10–40 min in the queue, 5–10 min at the counter, 1–3 days until the next step

Register a cash register in currency mode

Cash register with a currency module at the District Tax Inspectorate.

  1. 15. Register a cash register with a currency module
    Where: District Tax Inspectorate
    The register prints a receipt for each operation with the currency, the amount, the rate and the som equivalent. It is loaded each morning with the official rate and does not print a receipt at a rate outside the permitted range.
    Bring: Certificate that the cash register model is approved, Licence for an exchange office, with the entry in the register of licensed exchange offices, Taxpayer registration card
    You receive: Registration card of the cash register
    Cost: IS 120 per booth
    Time: 30–120 min in the queue, 15–25 min at the counter, 3–7 days until the next step

Set and report the rates each day

Official rate of the Bank of Irad and daily report to its Currency Control Department.

  1. 16. Receive the official rate at 9:00 and set the booth's rates
    Where: Currency Control Department, Bank of Irad (At the booth)
    Who: The cashier
    Hours: Every working day, before opening
    The official rate is published by the Bank of Irad at 9:00. The booth's buying and selling rates are within 2% of it — for the dollar, between 8.24 and 8.56 som — and are shown on the board in figures at least 10 cm high. No other rate is written, displayed or spoken in the booth.
    Bring: Licence for an exchange office, with the entry in the register of licensed exchange offices, Registration card of the cash register
    Time: 0 min in the queue, 10–15 min at the counter, 0 days until the next step
  2. 17. Deliver the daily report (Form BE-1) by 10:00 the next working day
    Where: Currency Control Department, Bank of Irad (Talas, Bank of Irad, Liberty Boulevard 2, entrance C)
    Hours: Every working day, 8:30–10:00
    The report shows each currency bought and sold, the rates, the number of operations and the cash in the safe at closing. It is delivered in person at entrance C or by fax to the number on the licence; a report sent by e-mail is not received. A booth that misses two reports in a month has its licence suspended until it has explained in writing, in Iradi.
    Bring: Licence for an exchange office, with the entry in the register of licensed exchange offices, Registration card of the cash register
    You receive: Daily report of the exchange office (Form BE-1)
    Time: 10–40 min in the queue, 5–10 min at the counter, 0 days until the next step
  3. 18. Have the reports delivered by the security company's courier ★ optional
    Where: Licensed private security companies
    A courier who delivers the report after 10:00 has not delivered it on time; the booth, not the courier, has missed the report.
    Bring: Contract with a licensed security company
    Cost: per report, for one month, IS 15 per booth, per day
    Time: 0 min in the queue, 5–10 min at the counter, 0 days until the next step

Laws and documents

  • Bank of Irad Regulation 2009/1 On exchange offices and cash currency operations (articles 5, 6; articles 9, 10, annex 2; article 12; articles 14, 15; articles 3, 7, 8; article 17; articles 19, 21, 24)
  • Bank of Irad Notice 2026/2 On cash operations in United States dollars (paragraph 2)
  • Fire Safety Rules FSR-01 Fire Safety Rules for premises and storage, 2003 (section 6)
  • № 12-02 Private Security Services Act (articles 4, 11)
  • № 08-02 Bank of Irad Act 2008 (articles 40, 41)
  • № 09-11 Tax Code of the Irad Special Economic Zone 2009 (article 112)

Institutions

  • Talasbank (any branch), Any of the 28 branches; foreign currency operations at the head office, Central Square, Talas. Monday to Friday, 9:00–16:00; Saturday 9:00–12:00
  • Licensing and Supervision Department, Bank of Irad, Talas, Bank of Irad, Liberty Boulevard 2, entrance A (applications); courses and examinations at entrance C. Documents accepted Monday and Thursday, 9:00–12:00
  • Iradstandart, State Agency for Standards, Metrology and Certification, Talas, Jibek Jolu Avenue 60; testing laboratory in the courtyard. Monday to Friday, 9:00–17:00, lunch 12:30–13:30
  • State Fire Inspectorate, Fire station of your district; in Talas, Fire Station No. 1, Trans-Talas Highway 33. Monday to Friday, 9:00–17:00, lunch 12:30–13:30
  • Licensed private security companies, List of licensed companies at window 6 of the City Police licensing and registration section, Liberty Boulevard 30. By contract; dispatch around the clock
  • City police: licensing and registration section, Talas City Police headquarters, Liberty Boulevard 30, window 6. Monday to Thursday, 9:00–12:30
  • District Tax Inspectorate, District administration building; in Talas, Government House annex, rooms 40–48. Monday to Friday, 9:00–17:00, lunch 12:30–13:30
  • Currency Control Department, Bank of Irad, Talas, Bank of Irad, Liberty Boulevard 2, entrance C. Documents accepted Monday and Thursday, 9:00–12:00

Updated 2026-10-23. Developed with the support of the UNMI trade facilitation programme.