From Travel to Groceries: How Freedom Holding Corp.’s Lifestyle Services Are Growing

Freedom Travel served 2.47 million airline passengers in the first nine months of 2026, up from 1.22 million a year earlier, while the number of orders placed through Arbuz increased from 853,000 to nearly 1.9 million. Both companies are expanding their everyday services within the Freedom ecosystem, integrating them with financial products through the Freedom SuperApp.

Freedom Travel: More Bookings and Passengers

Between January and September 2026, Freedom Travel processed 1.62 million flight bookings, compared with 821,700 during the same period last year, according to the company’s press service. This represents an increase of nearly 100%. The number of passengers using the service rose from 1.22 million to 2.47 million, while gross booking value – the total value of orders processed through the platform – increased by 110.6% to KZT 180 billion.

The average transaction value rose by 6.7% to KZT 110,900, while the number of business-class bookings increased by 25% to 22,100. Freedom Travel recorded its strongest year-on-year growth in flight bookings in April, at 150.7%. June and July saw the highest passenger volumes, with 333,100 and 325,200 passengers, respectively.

The company also reported growing demand for rail travel. Over the nine-month period, the number of train ticket bookings increased by 67% to 1.35 million, while gross booking value rose by 99.8% to KZT 24.7 billion. The average transaction value grew by 19.6% to KZT 18,300. The most popular international flight destinations were Istanbul, Tashkent, Moscow, Baku and Tbilisi, while demand grew particularly rapidly for flights to Bangkok, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur and Guangzhou.

Freedom Travel, formerly known as Aviata, became part of the holding company in 2023. Today, the platform offers flight and train tickets as well as travel packages, including domestic trips within Kazakhstan. Travelers can also purchase an eSIM through the Freedom SuperApp to stay connected while abroad.

The loyalty program remains an important tool for attracting customers. As of October 2026, cashback on Freedom Travel purchases can reach 10%. According to Freedom ecosystem CEO Timur Turlov, cashback has become a catalyst for encouraging customers to use multiple services within the ecosystem.

Arbuz: Nearly 1.9 Million Orders in Nine Months

Online grocery platform Arbuz fulfilled nearly 1.9 million orders between January and September 2026, compared with 853,000 during the same period last year. Gross merchandise value nearly doubled, rising from KZT 17.11 billion to KZT 34.05 billion. Growth was particularly strong in February, when the number of orders increased from nearly 76,000 in 2025 to 190,000 in 2026.

This growth was supported by geographic expansion and customer acquisition through the Freedom SuperApp. By the end of 2025, Arbuz had expanded into Karaganda and Shymkent, adding to its two core markets, Almaty and Astana. The service now delivers groceries and other consumer goods in four cities across Kazakhstan.

Timur Turlov acquired Arbuz in 2023. The online supermarket is now part of Freedom Lifestyle, the holding company’s division focused on everyday consumer services. By June 2026, Arbuz had reached 260,000 monthly active users and 24,000 daily active users. Payments made using Freedom’s financial products and services accounted for 91% of all transactions.

Everyday Services Within an International Ecosystem

Freedom Travel and Arbuz complement Freedom Holding Corp.’s financial businesses. The ecosystem includes banking, brokerage services, insurance providers Freedom Life and Freedom Insurance, payment services, the Freedom Ticketon ticketing platform and media services. Freedom Telecom and Freedom Cloud are developing telecommunications and computing infrastructure.

Financial products and everyday services are integrated into the Freedom SuperApp, which allows users to make payments, transfer money, open bank accounts and access other banking products, invest, purchase insurance and plan their travels. The app has more than 6 million users.

By mid-2026, Freedom Holding Corp. operated in 24 countries and had 264 offices. The number of customers across its digital ecosystem exceeded 8.7 million, while more than 14 million people used the group’s services, including users of partner companies.