PRACTICE OVERVIEW
With the Regulation on Remote Identification Methods to be Used by Banks and Establishment of Contractual Relationships in Electronic Environment, which entered into force on 1 May 2021, it is now possible to establish contractual relationships between banks and their customers only in electronic environment, including contracts subject to the written form requirement. With this regulation, an important step was taken towards the establishment of the infrastructure of the branchless banking model, which operates only in the digital environment and is called neobank / new generation online banking. Following this step, the action steps of “Enabling Digital (Branchless) Banking Licensing (applications)” were included in the 180-day Execution Programme of the Presidency of the Republic for the second term of 2021 and the Economic Reforms Action Plans announced by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance in 2021. The Regulation on the Operating Principles of Digital Banks and Service Model Banking entered into force on 1 January 2022 in order to determine the operating principles of branchless banks that provide services only through digital channels and to determine the conditions for the provision of banking services as a service model to financial technology companies and other enterprises, and thus to contribute to the healthy development of the financial sector and the national economy.
A digital bank is a credit institution that offers banking services through electronic banking services distribution channels instead of physical branches, and customers or parties acting on behalf of customers can remotely access the financial services offered by the bank through methods such as API, web service, file transfer protocol and perform banking transactions or instruct the bank to perform banking transactions (open banking service). In this context, digital banks cannot be organised other than the head office and service units affiliated to the head office, cannot open physical branches, and cannot use the service units affiliated to the head office as physical branches for other purposes.
Digital banks can perform all activities that credit institutions can perform, depending on whether they are deposit or participation banks, unless otherwise stipulated in the relevant legal regulations. The loan customers of digital banks can only be financial consumers and SMEs. Digital banking system in Turkey will improve both economic outcomes and consumer welfare. It will advance economic development by increasing overall growth in the financial sector, moving beyond screen scraping and then for bilateral contracts to enable secure, efficient consumer-permissioned data sharing. At the same time, digital banking will reduce asymmetric information on the part of credit institutions and also enhance well-being by enabling consumers to access new and innovative financial services in a way that is secure, efficient, and consumer-centric. Below we indicate the consumer outcomes that will guide this vision and provide the basis for an open banking system in Turkey:
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Consumer data is protected;
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Consumers are in control of their data;
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Consumers receive access to a wider range of useful, competitive and consumer friendly financial services;
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Consumers have reliable, consistent access to services;
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Consumers have recourse when issues arise; and
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Consumers benefit from consistent consumer protection and market conduct standards.
To achieve this, and to mitigate potential risks to these groups, financial inclusion should be considered in the design an open banking system and be complemented by financial education policies, programs, and resources.
We primarily offer the following legal support services to both local and foreign clients in Türkiye:
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Providing information and advice on license requirements.
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Guidance and support in license applications.
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Collection and organization of necessary documents.
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Consulting on regulatory compliance.
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Ensuring continuous legal compliance.
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Consultation on data protection and intellectual property rights.
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Specialized services for the activities of foreign banks in Turkey.
For detailed information on the services we provide, you can contact us.
