Depending on its legal nature, a balance held in electronic money or a digital wallet may be a property right that the heirs can claim. However, not every application balance is electronic money. Bank deposits, electronic money, crypto assets, loyalty points and gift balances of limited use may be subject to different rules. First, the identity of the product and of the service provider must be established. [1, 2]
How is the legal nature of the application determined?
The user agreement, the trade name of the institution, the type of service and its authorization status are examined. Payment and electronic money institutions within the scope of Law No. 6493 should not be assumed to be the same as a deposit bank. The provisions on deposit insurance for banks do not automatically apply to every digital balance. [1]
The word “wallet” appearing on a phone screen is not a legal classification. The application may be merely an interface for access to a bank card. In that case the actual receivable may be held at the relevant bank. A pending collection in a merchant account or e-commerce income, on the other hand, is a separate contractual relationship.
Distinguishing cash balances from points and coupons
| Type of value | Point to be examined |
|---|---|
| Electronic money | Right to repayment and the institution’s records |
| Bank-linked balance | The actual account and the bank’s procedure |
| Pending commercial collection | Conditions of sale, refund and deductions |
| Gift balance | Transferability and condition of use |
| Loyalty points | Contractual right and condition of expiry |
| Crypto asset | Separate regime of the platform or wallet |
A contract term saying “the account closes on death” does not automatically mean that all monetary receivables also cease to exist in law. The aspect of access to the service is distinguished from the right to a refund of money. On the other hand, a personal promotion cannot be demanded in every case to be paid out as an inheritance in cash.
Components of the amount shown in the account
The total balance shown in an application may consist of loaded money, a pending refund, a promotion and a blocked amount. The legal nature and the payment condition of each item are not the same. Not only the total figure but an account statement separating these components should be requested from the institution. From which transaction the difference between the balance on the date of death and the balance on the payment date arises should be explained. [1]
A pending shopping refund may be credited to the account after death. Conversely, the cancellation of an earlier transaction or an expense in line with the contract may reduce the balance. The heir’s claim covers the existing receivable; a screenshot of the application does not by itself explain all set-offs and refund transactions. The transaction statement, the contract and the institution’s reply are examined together.
Repayment of electronic money and the service account
Article 18/6 of Law No. 6493 provides that the procedures and principles for the repayment of electronic money are to be set out in a regulation. Heirship serves to identify the person entitled to claim repayment; it does not entirely remove the institution’s identity and representation verification. The closing of access to the service and the repayment of the monetary receivable should be assessed separately. [1, 2]
If the institution says that the account cannot be transferred, the question to ask is whether this statement relates only to the personal user account or also to the monetary balance. That a membership tied to the person is not continued in the heir’s name does not mean that every economic receivable ceases to exist. On the other hand, it should not be assumed that loyalty points are electronic money convertible to cash merely because the application shows a Turkish lira equivalent.
The authorized institution and its current operating status
The brand name and the company’s trade name may differ. The application must be directed to the actual party to the contract. The institution’s operating license, any other institution it represents, and any possible restriction on its activities are checked from the current official record. An old advertisement or an app store page is not evidence of the current license status. If authorization has changed, it is investigated to whom and by what procedure the heir’s claim is to be notified.
Filing a complaint with the regulatory authority does not by itself bring about collection of a private-law receivable. Likewise, opening an internal support ticket at the institution does not always interrupt every limitation period. Whether the account is a consumer transaction, and the amount of the claim, are assessed separately in terms of the competent authority and the conditions for suit. A general conclusion that “money will be paid if you write to the TCMB” cannot be drawn.
How are post-death transactions investigated?
The date of the death notification, the date on which the institution received the notification and the time of the disputed transfer are compared. In an allegation of an unauthorized transaction, the receiving account, the amount and the transaction reference are identified. That the device is in the hands of one heir does not show that all the transactions made were legally authorized. Conversely, the mere fact that a transaction was made after death does not prove that the institution is liable in every case; the authorization and security process is examined in concrete terms.
Heirs should make an official request rather than continue using the account by sharing the password. The identity and heirship documents that the institution requests for verification are submitted through a secure channel. It is not necessary for the transaction that one heir circulate the documents to the whole family messaging group. When asking for the records to be preserved, the review will be more targeted if the period and transactions requested are clearly indicated.
Sample calculation and closing
On a hypothetical application screen showing TL 12,000, TL 10,000 of it may be loaded money, TL 1,500 a pending refund and TL 500 a campaign point tied to the person. The heir’s claim for cash is determined by the contractual and statutory nature of these items. Closing the file with a payment of only TL 10,000 before the pending refund has become final may produce an incomplete result; nor can it be said that the TL 500 in points will necessarily be paid in cash.
In the final account, the opening balance, the refunds, the valid deductions and the payment made to the heir are compared. The identity of the payees and the scope of the joint instruction are placed on file. The account closing letter should be obtained only after the open monetary items have been assessed. In this way the difference between closing the digital service account and the complete liquidation of the inheritance receivable is preserved.
The institution’s current scope of authorization and operating status can be checked from the TCMB list of electronic money institutions. Checking the list is not a guarantee of payment of a particular inheritance receivable. [5]
The statutory basis and period of the right to repayment
The Law and the Regulation must be read together
Article 18/6 of Law No. 6493 provides for the regulation of the procedures and principles for the repayment of electronic money. The detailed framework is found in Article 6 of the Regulation on Payment Services and Electronic Money Issuance and Payment Service Providers. The article, subject to other statutory obligations, provides that a repayment request is to be fulfilled without delay and at the latest by the end of the business day following the request. TCMB Regulation text
This period should not be interpreted to mean that the whole amount will be paid the day after the first message from a person who says he or she is an heir. The person making a valid request, the authority to represent and the relevant statutory obstacles must be determined. Conversely, it cannot be said that the institution may extend the process indefinitely with a vague statement that “the review is continuing.” The reason for each additional document requested and the stage the review has reached should be asked in writing.
The refund channel and fees are checked separately
The Regulation makes the repayment fee subject to certain conditions; requirements such as the fee being provided for in the contract and being proportionate to actual cost are important. In transactions such as loading by credit card, the channel to which the refund is to be directed may also be subject to special rules. For this reason, an heir’s notifying the IBAN of any person is not in every case a valid and sufficient payment instruction. The payment arrangement requested by the institution and the entitlement of the community of heirs must be resolved together.
The provisions of the Law on the safeguarding of funds are also important. That the funds corresponding to electronic money are subject to a safeguarding regime does not, merely for that reason, make the balance a bank deposit or a deposit insured under all conditions. If the institution ceases its activities, the specific announcement and the refund procedure to be applied are followed. Being able to log in to the application is not evidence of solvency or of authorization status. Law No. 6493 Article 20
Documents and sequence of steps for an heir abroad
To begin with, the identity, the death record and the certificate of inheritance are prepared. For foreign documents, the requirement of authentication and translation is determined by reference to the country of the document, the applicable treaty and the transaction for which it will be used. An apostille alone does not guarantee that the content of the document conforms to Turkish inheritance law. If there is a change of name, a different alphabet or an old telephone record, an additional record that establishes the identity match is submitted.
If an agent is used, the authority to gather information, submit documents and collect payment is checked. Where there is more than one heir, the joint instruction or valid representation structure required for the whole balance to be paid to one person must be established. The statement of shares in the certificate of inheritance does not mean that every receivable belonging to an undivided estate can be collected separately and directly. In case of disagreement, the option of an estate representative is considered. TMK Articles 599 and 640
| Stage | Heir’s request | Record of completion |
|---|---|---|
| Death notification | Preventing unauthorized use and preserving records | Application number and date of delivery |
| Entitlement | Review of documents and representation | Written list of deficiencies or acceptance |
| Determining the balance | Distinguishing cash, refund, blocked amount and points | Dated, itemized account statement |
| Payment | Valid payee and payment method | Receipt and explanation of deductions |
| Closing | Status of open refunds and remaining claims | Final account and closing confirmation |
Does the personal data ground block all requests for information?
The heir must make concrete the documents needed to determine the monetary scope of the account and his or her own right. Requesting a specific period, balance and transactions, rather than all device records or unrelated information of third persons, is more proportionate. A request for information from the institution, the calling of evidence from a court and an application for access to personal data are different legal tools. A refusal in one route does not show that all the other routes are closed as well.
The Personal Data Protection Board’s decision of March 18, 2021, No. 2021/241, concerns the access of an heir who was the beneficiary of a life insurance policy to the policy summary. The Board assessed the heir’s right, as beneficiary, to data relating to himself or herself, and decided that, because the summary document had already been provided, no action was to be taken on the complaint. This is not a Court of Cassation decision or a decision on payment from an electronic wallet. The limited lesson here is that the scope of the document requested and the applicant’s own legal relationship are examined separately. Summary of the KVKK decision
How are TÖDEB, the consumer route and litigation distinguished?
Conditions of a TÖDEB application
According to the information published by the Payment and Electronic Money Institutions Association of Türkiye (TÖDEB), the Individual Customer Arbitration Board route is for applications by natural persons relating to individual-type transactions of member institutions; commercial transactions and applications by legal entities are not within this scope. An application to the institution is required first. The guide sets out a two-year period for applying to the institution from the transaction, a twenty-day response period for the institution, and a sixty-day period for applying to the Board after the response or the expiry of the period. TÖDEB application conditions
In an application made in the capacity of heir, the conditions of representation and admissibility must be checked separately. The Board does not take the place of the civil court of peace that determines who the heirs are or the disputed inheritance shares. The institution’s TÖDEB membership, the individual nature of the dispute and the scope of the claim are examined at the outset; it is not assumed that every inheritance file will be accepted.
A TCMB complaint and an action for a receivable
An application to the TCMB for regulatory supervision purposes is not a court judgment given to the heir for collection of a private-law receivable. The consumer arbitration board or court route, on the other hand, is determined by taking into account the nature of the transaction and the monetary limits on the date of application. Whether mediation is a condition for suit is examined separately. It should not be accepted that an internal support ticket at the institution and a regulatory complaint interrupt all limitation periods.
In this research, no specific Court of Cassation decision whose full text had been verified was used on the direct payment of an electronic money balance to an heir. It would not be correct to present a decision relating to a bank account or another product as though it belonged to a wallet dispute. The claim should be framed by assessing together Law No. 6493, the relevant Regulation, the contract and the provisions on the community of heirs.
What deficiencies are looked for in the final payment file?
The file should not be closed with a receipt alone. The refunds, valid expenses and contested transfers that occurred from the date of death to the date of payment should be calculated. Receipt of part of the payment should not be assumed to mean that all disputed items have been accepted, unless this has been clearly and validly agreed. The scope of any release document and the authority of the signatory are also checked separately.
For example, if the institution has paid only the loaded money and left out the refund expected from the merchant, it is determined in writing why the refund has not been completed and to which account it will be paid in the future. If a transfer is to be made to an heir’s account abroad, information is obtained on bank charges and currency. This arrangement does not replace the question of to whom the money legally belongs; it ensures that, once the correct entitlement has been established, payment is made in a traceable manner.
Conclusion
In the inheritance of a digital wallet, the first task is not to look at the application but to define the legal nature of the receivable. Once entitlement and the repayment procedure have been completed, the balance can be collected safely; points, promotions and crypto assets must be assessed separately.
Related articles: Are Crypto Assets Inherited? Exchange Accounts, Bitcoin and the Transfer of a Cold Wallet; How Is Inherited Bank Money Collected in Türkiye? A Guide for Foreign and Overseas Heirs; Blocks, Joint Accounts and Withdrawals by a Sole Heir on an Inherited Bank Account
Frequently Asked Questions
Is every digital wallet a bank account?
No. The service provider and the legal nature of the product are examined.
Does taking over the phone give authority to withdraw the balance?
No. The application must be made with heirship and representation documents.
Are points necessarily paid in cash?
They are assessed according to the contract and the nature of the right.
Is it right to close the account immediately?
The balance, the pending refunds and the necessary transaction records should be obtained first.
Is electronic money inheritance necessarily paid within one business day?
The repayment period in the Regulation cannot be read independently of entitlement and the other statutory obligations. The first death notification and a valid and completed repayment request are not the same; the reason for any deficiencies should be asked in writing.
Can one heir receive payment on behalf of everyone?
A certificate of inheritance alone does not give unlimited authority to collect on behalf of the other heirs. The joint instruction, valid representation or partition arrangement is examined.
Does a complaint to the TCMB bring about collection of a money claim?
A regulatory application serves a supervisory function; it does not take the place of a court judgment on the receivable. The appropriate dispute route and time limits must be followed separately.
Is a refund arriving later lost once the account is closed?
Closure does not mean that an existing economic right ends of its own accord. Through which channel and to whom pending refunds are to be paid should be determined in writing before closure.
Sources
[1] Law No. 6493 on Payment and Electronic Money Services
[2] Turkish Civil Code No. 4721
[3] Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098
[4] Inheritance and Transfer Tax Law No. 7338
[5] TCMB, Electronic Money Institutions and their operating licenses