Illustration of Law No. 7192 changes to payment services, e-money and open banking

Law No. 7192 Amending Certain Laws, together with Law No. 6493 on Payment and Securities Settlement Systems, Payment Services and Electronic Money Institutions, contains changes relating to payment services, e-money and open banking.

Since it came into force in 2013, innovations and developments in financial technologies (FinTech) have affected payment habits and customer expectations, and new payment services and applications have emerged; this has brought with it the need for amendments and regulation.

The provisions amended by Law No. 7192 are listed below:

  • The authority to regulate and supervise payment services and payment and e-money institutions, given to the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA) by Law No. 6493, was transferred to the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT).
  • The new types of payment services introduced by the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2), namely the "payment initiation service" and the "service of providing consolidated information on a payment account", were added to the legislation.
  • The CBRT was given the authority to determine the nature, and the maximum amounts or rates, of the fees, expenses, commissions and other benefits received by one of the parties to a transaction within the scope of payment services, and to liberalize them in whole or in part.
  • The CBRT was given the authority to bring services provided through payment instruments with a limited area of use within the scope of payment services.
  • The requirement that the funds deposited by e-money institutions with banks be blocked by the banks at the CBRT was removed from the text of the Law.
  • The provision that e-money institutions cannot extend credit was regulated in the same way as for payment institutions, and the CBRT was given the authority to regulate which activities fall within the scope of lending activity.
  • New provisions were added on the establishment of the Turkish Payment and Electronic Money Institutions Association.
  • The CBRT was given the authority to become a shareholder in existing and future payment system operators of systemic importance, in order to ensure the uninterrupted operation of the systems.

You can find the details of the relevant communiqué at the link below.

https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2019/11/20191122-2.htm