Former board member and managing director of Kazkommertsbank, Arif Babaev, is acquiring a controlling stake in the Austrian payment company card complete Service Bank AG. This information comes from a press release by the company dated February 17, 2025. In a comment to Forbes Kazakhstan, Babaev explained that he is participating in the deal alongside his business partner Nurlan Zhagiparov.
The transaction will be executed through EAVISTA, a company registered in Vienna in 2023, which is owned by Babaev. The company will purchase shares from the current owners of card complete Service Bank AG: 50.1% from UniCredit Bank Austria AG and 25% from Raiffeisen Bank International AG. As a result, it will hold a majority stake of 75.1%. The remaining share of 24.9% will be retained by the AVZ Privatstiftung fund. “The closing of the share sale transaction is expected to be completed after receiving approval from regulatory authorities,” the statement reads.
Card complete Service Bank AG specializes in card services and is described as a "leading provider of credit card and payment solutions for private and corporate clients" with a 40-year history.
Arif Babaev is referred to in the press release as a “British entrepreneur” and co-founder of the British company DNA Payments Limited. “The acquisition expands our operations into the important German-speaking market,” the company shared in a joint comment from Babaev and Nurlan Zhagiparov, who is also a co-founder of DNA Payments Limited and, according to the press release, the director of EAVISTA.
In comments to Forbes Kazakhstan, Arif Babaev clarified that EAVISTA is an SPV ( special purpose vehicle - F ). He did not disclose the transaction amount (“the deal is large, and the sum is significant for Europe”). Both he and Zhagiparov are financially involved in the deal. “Card complete Service Bank AG is a bank that specializes in payments, holds a pan-European banking license, and has a 20-30% market share across various products,” Babaev explained his interest in the bank. “It also serves as a gateway to Europe, especially Germany. A banking license in a Western country with a large client base is a serious starting point for conquering Europe. We expect a minimum 10x effect. The company employs 500 people, good guys, but they lack innovation—we have that. We will fight until victory.”
Babaev served as managing director on the board of Kazkom from December 2013 to May 2016. He left the bank to enter the manufacturing sector, as reported at the time. In 2017, he became the main owner of the Ukrainian “Region-Bank,” starting the process of acquiring the financial institution from Kharkiv businessman Anatoly Volok in December 2016. The bank was later renamed Sky Bank. Babaev's resume also includes positions at ABN AMRO and Royal Bank of Scotland prior to Kazkom.
Nurlan Zhagiparov also has a history with Kazkom: from 2010 to 2018, he held positions as executive director and then managing director—member of the board of this bank. From 2018 to 2019, he was part of the board of Halyk Bank.
In 2018, Babaev and Zhagiparov established DNA Payments Limited in the UK. According to its website, it is “one of the largest independent” omnichannel providers in the UK.