Alternatively, you can simply download the ONAY app and register your phone number there. Just link your phone number to the app and use it to pay for your trips.

Download the ONAY app and open a virtual card.

Yes, that's right. Register the physical card in the app, and then you will be able to pay for any number of tickets, even several one after another with a short interval between them. The app will also show all your tickets.

Download the ONAY app and open a virtual card.

if two people are travelling, do we need to buy two cards?

It's safer to have two cards, because inspectors sometimes get on. You give them the card, and they can see whether it was used on that particular bus. But if there are two of you, how can you prove that you both paid with the same card? The question is whether they can see the entire history of card taps or only the most recent one.

Another thing is that you can give 200 tenge to the driver. But they often don't issue tickets; they simply tell the inspector verbally that this person has paid.

If you have an international bank card, you don't need ONAY. In that case, use Avtobys.

Otherwise, there is a terminal near the airport exit where you can buy an ONAY card for cash. The card costs 800 tenge.

If you don't have an international payment card, it's better to get an ONAY transport card. The nearest place to the airport where you can buy one is to the left of the entrance to the domestic terminal. It is the next building after the international terminal.

Could you please tell me:

1. Is it possible to pay for bus fares with a Visa card (not a Russian one)?
2. Is there a terminal at Almaty Airport for purchasing an ONAY card? Can you also buy and top it up using Visa? Or do you have to pay in cash in tenge?

After arriving, I asked an employee at passport control where I could buy an ONAY transport card at the airport. The employee said it was easier to just pay the bus driver 200 tenge in cash. Apparently, that's what everyone does.

And that's exactly what happened. The driver took 200 tenge. He didn't issue any tickets. He said not to worry about the inspectors. We took direct bus 106 to Sairan Bus Station. We paid the same way on the return journey.

P.S. We did find the ONAY terminal at the airport, but we couldn't buy a card from it - it only allowed you to top up an existing card.

Both systems are currently operating in parallel on the buses.