The “Turkey Fintech Guide”, which was prepared by the Presidential Finance Office in order to be a guiding resource for Fintech entrepreneurs and is the first in this field in our country, has been published.
Turkey Fintech Guide, prepared with the vision of developing and disseminating financial technologies (fintech), which is among the priority areas of work of the Presidential Finance Office and stands out as one of the main focuses of the Istanbul Finance Center (IFC), has been published.
“Türkiye Fintech Guide” Prepared by Finance Office of Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye Has Been Published
Prepared to be a guiding resource for fintech entrepreneurs, the Guide consists of two main section. In the first section, the elements that make Türkiye stand out in the field of start-up and fintech are introduced, while in the second section, the business models and regulatory agencies in the Turkish fintech ecosystem, as well as regulations made in the field of fintech and incentives that fintechs can benefit from are presented.
The Guide will serve as a roadmap for the ecosystem
The Türkiye Fintech Guide contains explanatory information such as the regulations concerning to the institutions engaged in licensed fintech activities, and their organizational obligations. Alongside detailed information about the legislative infrastructure, the licensing types and basic regulations regarding regulatory authorities are also mentioned in The Guide. Furthermore, the publication includes the basic indicators of establishing a fintech startup, is intended to provide a roadmap to entrepreneurs who are interested in and want to operate in the field of fintech.
“Türkiye Fintech Guide is the first in its field”
Göksel Aşan, Ph.D. President of Finance Office of Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, stated that the Türkiye Fintech Guide demonstrates the highly developed state of fintech ecosystem in Türkiye and that the publication is a first in its field. Mr. Aşan said “The Türkiye Fintech Guide, which we have prepared as the Finance Office, is a first for entrepreneurs who want to implement regulated business models in the emerging financial technologies ecosystem. Our publication is a guide for institutions that will enter the market in verticals such as e-money and payment institutions and crowdfunding platforms”.
Fintech investments in Türkiye broke a record in 2022
The strong banking sector and technological infrastructure in Türkiye, paves the way for an increase in the rate of digitalization and accelerates the development of the start-up ecosystem. In 2022, Türkiye ranked 10th in Europe and 3rd in the Middle East and Africa Region in investments made to start-ups. While a dynamic ecosystem is being created with the impact of the investments, fintech is among the most prominent verticals. In Türkiye, there are 637 active fintech companies as of March 2023 and the payments area stands out with 255 fintechs. Fintech investments in Türkiye in 2022 reached an all-time high level with $89mn and broke a record, contrary to the global decline trend.
We continue working regarding the future of the sector
Starting with 2013 when the first regulation regarding fintech was established, the innovative approaches of the authorized, regulatory and supervisory institutions of the Turkish fintech sector play a major role in the growing and developing process of the ecosystem. The industry association, The Payment and Electronic Money Institutions Associations of Türkiye (TÖDEB), started to operate in 2020, which was joined in the later years by other unions and communities aim to build a reliable financial technologies ecosystem by acting jointly for the development of the field. Finance Office of Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye continues carrying out projects, strategies and activities to ensure that this aim is embraced by the public and to support the activities as an umbrella institution, continues working in coordination with the relevant stakeholders regarding the future of the fintech sector.
İstanbul Financial Center, whose legislative process has been completed some time ago is one of the most important projects carried out by Finance Office, is created with financial technologies one of the main focuses. Within the İFC, İstanbul Finance and Technology Base Inc. was established as fintech themed and with a technopark status in the past months and it is expected to start operating in a technopark status in a short time.
Furthermore, Finance Office continues planning and working to include a regulatory sandbox within İFC, where fintechs can develop their products and services in a protected area. The work on the National Fintech Strategy Document, prepared under the coordination of Finance Office and which would reveal the action plan for the fintech ecosystem of our country for the years 2023-2025, has reached the final stage toward completion and it is expected to share the document with the public in the near future. The National Fintech Strategy Document is a roadmap for promoting the Turkish fintech ecosystem to stand out in the international arena and reaching the place it deserves by producing realistic solutions to the probable problems in its development process and for making the relevant regulations from this perspective.
You can use the link below to access the “Turkey Fintech Guide”;
Click to access turkiye-fintech-guide.pdf