Especially in recent years, the accelerating steps of digitalization driven by technological developments have first shown themselves in banking and payment systems.
In particular, with the spread of payment institutions and e-money institutions and increased cooperation with banks, digitalization has begun to take up more space in our lives.
Customers no longer want to go to bank branches or to a specific physical location to get things done. They want to become a customer, apply for a card and transfer money from wherever they are sitting. As a result, digital banking is coming to the fore.
With increasing digitalization and rapid developments in financial technologies, the way is also opening in Turkey for branchless digital banks, whose names we have recently been hearing often in Europe and the Far East.
The BRSA has announced that it will begin issuing licenses for new-generation banking, also known as digital (branchless) banking, which is spreading rapidly around the world. This can be interpreted as a sign that the legal ground is being prepared for individuals or institutions with sufficient capital to establish digital banks in our country.
According to information in the Economic Reform Package announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Digital (Branchless) Banking licenses will be made possible in Turkey in the coming period. In the new era, a radical amendment will be made to Banking Law No. 5411, paving the way for banks that serve only in the digital environment, without branches. This system will be different from the internet and mobile banking that banks currently use in their advertisements.
According to the information obtained about this practice, which is expected to mark the beginning of a new era in the banking sector, the BRSA has completed the regulation of the technology infrastructure required for Digital (Branchless) Banking. It was learned that the BRSA is continuing its work on determining the financial requirements for the Digital Banking license.
The value of digital banks, which are spreading rapidly around the world, is also multiplying quickly. According to CB Insights data, in August 2020 the combined value of the 10 most valuable new-generation banks reached 36 billion 950 million dollars. Among these banks, those with the highest market value are listed as Nubank with 10 billion dollars, Chime with 5.8 billion dollars, Revolut with 5.5 billion dollars and SoFi with 4.8 billion dollars.
In the coming years, we could create a new digital bank as a unicorn. We have the human resources, we have the vision and we have sufficient technology to do this. Do you also think we have the power to do it?
