TROYEurope’s fastest-growing domestic scheme. Growth comes from a public policy of replacing international schemes and from a mandate imposed on the public sector. Any acquirer operating in Turkey now has to treat TROY as a tier-one scheme, not an option.BKM · Bankalararası Kart Merkezi (Interbank Card Center) · since 201690 million cards (up 80% year over year), TRY 4.8 trillion in volume (up 125%), and a 25.3% market share BY VALUE at the end of 2025, roughly TRY 25 of every TRY 100 paid by card in Turkey; 50 million cards and an 18.3% share at the end of 2024 (BKM, releases of January 2025 and January 23, 2026). Stated target: 30%
Global registry · Europe · Central and Eastern Europe
Turkey Payment systems
12 systems listed.
CurrencyTurkish lira (TRY)
Domestic schemeTroy
RegulatorCentral Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (TCMB) / BDDK
Leading payment methods
Cards (installment credit)Wallets (Papara)A2A (FAST)Cash
E-commerce shares
Cards · 55%Wallets · 20%Account-to-account · 12%Cash · 8%Other · 5%
Troy. The domestic card scheme launched in 2016 by the interbank company BKM and backed by the government to reduce reliance on Visa and Mastercard. The FAST instant rail (2021) rounds out the sovereign toolkit.
Credit cards≈140M (Oct. 2025, BKM)
Debit cards≈216M (Oct. 2025, BKM)
Papara users>20M
A local specialty: credit card installments (taksit) are part of everyday spending, driven by inflation. A dynamic fintech market (Papara, iyzico).
IBAN · Türkiye
26 characters51 bank codes1,459 BIC codes
- Total length
- 26 characters
- Bank code position
- 5–9
- BBAN structure
5!n1!n16!c
Structurally valid example
TRcountry code33check digits00061bank00519786457841326account
TR33 0006 1005 1978 6457 8413 26
Learn about this market. The guides and courses that cover it.
Payments in TurkeyMerchant, acquirer, PSPPayment regulationCentral banks and payment infrastructuresAgents, distributors, and banking-as-a-service: who is liable for whatPayments in the BalkansAccepting payments in TurkeyAccepting payments in Germany, Austria, and SwitzerlandAccepting payments in Spain and PortugalChoosing a jurisdiction for your payment institutionAccepting payments in the Netherlands and BelgiumAccepting payments in the Nordics
Card schemes
Instant payments
FAST (Fonların Anlık ve Sürekli Transferi)Turkey’s instant payment system, operated by the central bank, went live on December 18, 2020, and opened to customers on January 8, 2021. A structural point: NON-bank payment and e-money institutions participate directly, which is rare in Europe. The cap was raised to TRY 100,000 in April 2024.TCMB · Türkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankası · since 202042 participants (banks, payment institutions, and e-money institutions) in 2024; an average of 13.8 million transactions a day in December 2024 (TCMB, Turkey’s central bank)
FAST (Instant and Continuous Transfer of Funds)Turkey’s instant rail, operated by the central bank and running 24/7, extended to merchant payments in 2022 through the TR Karekod QR service. Its growth in value is among the fastest in the world.Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (TCMB) · since 2021TRY 8,860 billion processed in 2023, or TRY 24.3 billion a day on average, up from TRY 2,070 billion in 2022 (TCMB, 2023 annual report)
KOLAS (Kolay Adresleme Sistemi)Turkey’s national proxy registry, linking a phone number, email address, or ID to an IBAN, and built on FAST. It enables instant transfers without exchanging IBANs, an essential building block for consumer use of the instant rail.BKM · since 2021
Wallets
ToslaE-money wallet backed by a major Turkish bank: an account, a card, and transfers without opening a bank account, plus bill payment and an SME offering since 2024. It illustrates the Turkish model, in which banks set up their own e-money institutions rather than cede the ground to independent fintechs.Aköde Elektronik Para ve Ödeme Hizmetleri A.Ş. (Akbank subsidiary, licensed as an e-money institution by the TCMB (public register, entry No. 836)) · since 2019more than 5 million users claimed (Aköde / Turkish tech press, 2024)
ininalDiscontinuedTurkey’s pioneer in reloadable prepaid cards, and for years the gateway to online payments for the unbanked. Its license now appears among the revoked authorizations published by the central bank; the revocation was reported in late 2025, together with those of PayFix and Aypara. Treat it as a closed case, even though the brand’s website stayed online after the revocation.İninal Ödeme ve Elektronik Para Hizmetleri A.Ş. (majority-owned by Multinet Up since 2016; listed by the TCMB among e-money institutions whose license has been revoked) · since 2012
PaparaTurkey’s largest e-money wallet by number of accounts: a personal account number, a prepaid card, free transfers between members, bill payment, and digital code purchases. It is a mass-market substitute for a bank account in a country where inflation and fees push people toward lightweight accounts.Papara Elektronik Para A.Ş. (e-money institution licensed by the TCMB (public register, entry No. 829))about 22 million users reported (Papara, cited by the Turkish press, 2025)
PaycellWallet backed by the dominant mobile operator: carrier billing, a prepaid card, transfers, and merchant acceptance. A textbook case of Turkish-style mobile money: run by a telco, but under a central bank e-money license rather than a special carve-out regime.Turkcell Ödeme ve Elektronik Para Hizmetleri A.Ş. (subsidiary of the telecom operator Turkcell, licensed as an e-money institution by the TCMB (public register, entry No. 869)) · since 2017
BKM ExpressTurkish interbank digital wallet: cardholders register their cards once and pay online and in store without re-entering them, with person-to-person transfers. The service is still active and listed among BKM’s current products, alongside TROY, TR Karekod, and KOLAS. It accepts cards from the major Turkish banks and from e-money institutions. A rare model: a wallet run by the interbank center rather than by a bank or a private company.BKM (Bankalararası Kart Merkezi, Turkey’s interbank card center)
Interoperable QR
TR KarekodTurkey’s single national QR standard, interoperable across banks and covering both card payments and FAST credit transfers. A model of standardization led by the interbank center rather than by competing proprietary wallets.BKM · since 2020
Other
EFT (Elektronik Fon Transfer Sistemi)The Turkish lira RTGS and the country’s long-standing large-value settlement system. It runs alongside FAST: EFT handles large amounts during business hours, and FAST handles 24/7 retail instant payments.TCMB · since 1992
6493 sayılı Kanun · ödeme kuruluşları ve elektronik para kuruluşlarıTurkey’s regime for non-bank payment providers, set by Law No. 6493 of 2013. Two common misconceptions need correcting: since 2020, the central bank, not the BDDK, has granted licenses; and license withdrawal is far from theoretical, since 14 e-money licenses have already been revoked.Türkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankası (licensing and supervision of payment institutions and e-money institutions moved from the BDDK (the banking regulator) to the central bank (TCMB) on January 1, 2020; the TCMB publishes the license registers) · since 201320 licensed payment institutions and 55 licensed e-money institutions, versus 14 revoked e-money licenses and 10 revoked payment institution licenses (TCMB public registers, accessed September 2026)