Digital Payments & Fintech · Turkey
Digital Payments & Fintech - Turkey
Turkey operates a mature, comprehensive licensing regime for digital payments and e-money under Law No. 6493, with the CBRT as the sole licensing and supervisory authority since 2020. Payment institutions and electronic money institutions must hold CBRT-issued operating licences, open banking services are integrated into the same framework, and an instant-payment rail (FAST) has been live since 2021. A separate CMB licensing regime for crypto-asset service providers came into force in March 2025, with transition deadlines through June 2026.
Law No. 6493 (2013) is the principal statute. Law No. 7192 (November 2019) transferred supervisory authority from the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) to the CBRT effective January 2020, making the CBRT the sole licensor and overseer of payment institutions and electronic money institutions (EMIs).
Applicants must be incorporated in Türkiye as joint-stock companies. Minimum paid-in capital is TRY 25 million for payment institutions and TRY 50 million for EMIs. The application fee is TRY 500,000. Licensing involves a three-stage process: pre-assessment, detailed examination, and licence approval by the CBRT.
The Instant and Continuous Transfer of Funds (FAST) system launched in January 2021 and operates 24/7. It is owned and operated by the CBRT and settles in central bank money. A CBRT Centre of Payments portal aggregating FAST, open banking, Digital Turkish Lira, and TR QR Code information was launched on 5 December 2025.
Account information services (AIS) and payment initiation services (PIS) are regulated under Law No. 6493 and secondary CBRT regulations. AIS-only providers benefit from a lighter-touch licensing track, while PIS providers face the same capital and governance requirements as standard payment institutions. October 2023 amendments formally defined digital wallet services and card-on-file interoperability as open banking services.
On 13 March 2025 the Capital Markets Board (SPK) published Communiqués III-35/B.1 and III-35/B.2, establishing a comprehensive CMB licensing regime covering establishment, governance, capital adequacy, custody, and IT security for crypto-asset service providers. Operators on the CMB's active-entity list were required to apply for an operating licence by 30 June 2025 and must obtain final authorisation by 30 June 2026.
MASAK (Financial Crimes Investigation Board) updated KYC/KYB rules for payment and e-money institutions in late 2024, removing simplified measures and mandating face-to-face or digital identity verification. BNPL products are nascent in Turkey and are not yet subject to a standalone BNPL-specific regulation; they fall under general payment services and consumer credit rules as applicable.
Machine-assisted translation · verified 5/24/2026 · orientation, not legal advice. English version →