Payment service

Scope

Article 3/1-s of Law No. 6493 defines a payment service as the services listed in Article 12 of the Law: operating a payment account, money transfer, including payment by card and direct debit, issuing or accepting a payment instrument, money remittance, intermediating bill payments, initiating payment orders, consolidated presentation of account information, and other transactions to be determined by the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (Türkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankası, TCMB). Transactions such as direct cash payments, payments by negotiable instruments and instruments usable only within a limited network fall outside the scope under the conditions set out in the Law (Art. 12/2).

Payment service providers are banks, electronic money institutions, payment institutions and PTT; persons other than these and the Central Bank cannot provide payment services (Art. 13). In the Law, “Bank” refers to the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye; the permitting and supervision of payment institutions belong to it (Art. 14, 21).

Practical significance

Whether a business model that transfers money, receives payments or holds funds on behalf of users counts as a payment service determines whether a Central Bank permit is required; the assessment is made on the basis of the list and exceptions in Article 12. Operating without a permit as a payment institution or an electronic money institution is regulated as a criminal offense in Article 28. A framework contract with the user is concluded in writing or by remote methods accepted by the Central Bank; the Central Bank may impose limits on fees and commissions (Art. 12/3-4). Under a Central Bank regulation, crypto-assets cannot be used directly or indirectly in payment services.

Commonly confused concepts

A payment order under the payment services legislation is the instruction that a payment service user gives to the provider for a payment transaction to be carried out (Art. 3/1-p); this is entirely different from the payment order that an enforcement office sends to a debtor under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law (İcra ve İflas Kanunu). A payment service is also confused with the issuance of electronic money: issuing electronic money is a separate activity subject to a permit and may be carried out only by banks, PTT and electronic money institutions (Art. 18); a payment institution permit alone does not confer this authority.