– The digitalization of commerce is making the economy more transparent to the government. But what benefits do entrepreneurs gain from using an online cash register service?
– We operate in the RegTech (Regulatory Technology) sector, where the use of cash registers is mandated by government regulations. However, entrepreneurs are free to choose their solution providers, which is why companies in this market actively compete for customers.
Our clients are primarily large companies that require solutions tailored to their specific operations, but we also serve small and medium-sized businesses. We aim to make cash register operations as convenient as possible, minimizing the time entrepreneurs spend on them and helping them avoid problems and errors.
For major marketplaces and companies with high customer traffic and large transaction volumes, we provide a service that offers fast and easy integration. At the same time, we ensure high reliability and fault tolerance, allowing businesses to operate without interruption.
For example, during the lockdown and other events when internet connectivity was disrupted, we quickly established cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Development and obtained whitelisted IP addresses. This allowed our service to continue operating and enabled sales transactions at grocery stores and pharmacies, which had to remain operational even under restrictions.
We want entrepreneurs to be able to focus on their businesses — generating revenue and providing customers with goods and services without being distracted by other processes. Webkassa takes care of the fiscalization of sales, ensuring speed, reliability, and accuracy.
When money is involved, transparency is particularly important for businesses. Customers need to be confident in the accuracy of their data because it directly affects their taxes. Our task is to provide that confidence.
– What kind of sales analytics does Webkassa provide to entrepreneurs? Does it include business recommendations?
– We have a dedicated analytics module that allows each customer to view and independently analyze their sales data. This information is protected by tax confidentiality: we transmit it to the State Revenue Committee of Kazakhstan's Ministry of Finance and do not disclose it to third parties. Users can access only their own data.
Providing business recommendations is the purpose of our other products. Webkassa specializes in fiscalization, so within this service, we provide data for independent analysis.
– How many companies currently use your product?
– We measure the scale of our service by the number of cash registers, which currently stands at 150,000. Our clients include Technodom, Sulpak, the KazMunayGas filling station network, the Flip.kz online store, and the Wolt delivery service. They choose us for the ease of integration and high fault tolerance of our service.
– Kazakhstan has made considerable progress in digitalizing payments and fiscal systems. To what extent can this experience be exported to other countries?
– When we started operating in Kazakhstan, we went through the registration process with the State Revenue Committee to have our solution included in the official list of approved cash registers. Similar procedures exist in other countries, but each market has its own regulatory requirements.
We made two attempts to enter the Ukrainian market, both before 2022. We signed an agreement with a local partner and developed a product tailored to Ukraine's regulatory requirements, but we were unable to reach an agreement on further cooperation.
At the same time, our experience attracted interest from the Ukrainian tax authorities. We were invited to consultations where we explained how Kazakhstan had organized the online transmission of cash register data to tax authorities. At that time, Ukraine was only preparing to introduce such a mechanism, while it was already operational in Kazakhstan.
We also considered entering Uzbekistan and held negotiations with potential partners. This step required substantial investment, and we were unable to enter the market independently. We could not find a suitable partner, so we decided not to pursue this market.
Subsequently, both Ukraine and Uzbekistan introduced online transmission of cash register data.
– How do you use artificial intelligence in developing your products, and what tasks does it perform?
– We use AI in our internal processes, particularly in software development. Our goal is to release additional functionality quickly, and AI helps us achieve this.
AI is not used within Webkassa itself. We handle financial data and transmit it to government authorities, so accuracy and security are fundamental priorities for us.
– Do you develop your own AI models or use existing solutions?
– In some products, we use our own developments. For example, for Workpace, a working time tracking system, we developed and trained an AI model that recognizes employees and records their arrival and departure times.
The system includes a liveness detection mechanism that verifies whether the person in front of the camera is a real, live person rather than a photograph. This prevents situations where one employee records another employee's attendance by showing their photograph. Our model is already being used in practice.
– So artificial intelligence is already helping to enforce human discipline?
– Yes, and in certain areas, this is particularly important
