In Türkiye, to collect payments you must be a payment institution, and to also issue electronic money you must be an electronic money institution.
For those operating like a payment or electronic money institution without obtaining the necessary licenses, the details of Article 28 of the Law are as follows:
ARTICLE 28 – (1) Real persons, and the officers of legal persons, who operate as a system operator, payment institution or electronic money institution without obtaining the licenses required under this Law shall be punished with imprisonment from one to three years and a judicial fine of up to five thousand days.
(2) Real persons, and the officers of legal persons, who, without obtaining the licenses required under this Law, use words and expressions in their trade names, any kind of documents, announcements and advertisements, or public statements that create the impression that they operate as a system operator, payment institution or electronic money institution shall be punished with imprisonment from one to three years and a judicial fine of up to five thousand days.
(3) If the offenses defined in the first and second paragraphs are committed within a business, it may be decided to close this business for two to six months, and permanently in case of repetition.
(4) The provisions of this article also apply if a system operator, payment institution or electronic money institution whose operating license granted under this Law has been revoked continues its activities.
So what consequences can working with unlicensed companies for payment or electronic money services have?
If a company or electronic money solution is not licensed in Türkiye, the safeguards and supervisory mechanisms provided by the Law may not apply to the users of that system. In addition, when such unlicensed activities are detected, the Central Bank will stop the activity, and the business concerned will be closed temporarily or permanently. These situations can lead to service disruptions, a lack of protection and having no one to hold accountable for users who work with unlicensed companies.
