Fintech & digital payments rules in Turkey (2026)

Turkey's Capital Markets Board (SPK/CMB) published Communiqués III-35/B.1 and III-35/B.2 in the Official Gazette, setting binding rules on establishment, governance, capital adequacy (minimum TRY 100 million for platforms, TRY 50 million for custody-only), and AML/CFT compliance for all crypto asset service providers. These detailed secondary regulations operationalise the 2024 Crypto Assets Law No. 7518.

Published in Official Gazette No. 32590, Law No. 7518 amends the Capital Markets Law to formally define crypto assets, makes CMB/SPK licensing mandatory for all crypto asset service providers, and imposes investor asset segregation and AML/CFT obligations. It closed Turkey's long-standing regulatory gap for one of the world's largest retail crypto markets and superseded the 2021 payment-ban as the primary crypto policy instrument.

The Central Bank published an amendment to the Payment Services Regulation that for the first time formally defined 'digital wallet service' in Turkish law and established remote-identification (eKYC) rules for payment institutions. Providers already offering digital wallets without TCMB authorisation were required to obtain it by 7 September 2024.

The Central Bank issued formal guidelines on data sharing in payment services, implementing the open banking mandate introduced by the 2019 amendment to Law No. 6493. The guidelines specify technical and procedural standards for payment initiation and account information services, aligning Turkey's open banking architecture with EU PSD2 principles.

The BDDK's Regulation on the Operating Principles of Digital Banks and Service Model Banking (published December 2021) became effective, creating a standalone branchless-bank licence class in Turkey. Digital banks must hold minimum paid-in capital of TRY 1 billion, may only serve retail consumers and SMEs, and cannot open physical branches, establishing Turkey's formal neobank regime.

TCMB's regulation published 16 April 2021 and effective 30 April 2021 prohibited any direct or indirect use of crypto assets in payment transactions and barred payment and e-money institutions from routing crypto-based settlements. While holding crypto remained legal, the measure excluded crypto entirely from Turkey's licensed payment infrastructure.

From 18 January 2021, payment institutions and electronic money institutions could only operate in Turkey under a licence issued directly by TCMB, completing the transfer of supervisory authority from BDDK. The new regime centralised all payment-sector oversight under the central bank and tightened market entry requirements.

An amendment enacted on 12 November 2019 added payment initiation services (PIS) and account information services (AIS) to Law No. 6493 as fully regulated payment service categories, providing Turkey's first statutory basis for open banking. Technical standards and detailed implementation guidelines were published subsequently by TCMB.

Turkey enacted Law No. 6493 on Payment and Securities Settlement Systems, Payment Services and Electronic Money Institutions (Official Gazette No. 28690), establishing the licensing framework for payment institutions and e-money institutions aligned with EU PSD1 norms, with initial supervision assigned to BDDK. Every subsequent layer of Turkish fintech regulation—from open banking to crypto—builds on this foundation.