MIV is the abbreviated form of Central Merchant Database.
The MIV Module is a database that collects, in one central location, information on all merchants located in Turkey and the TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) that have a card acceptance agreement with a BKM member. Based on this consolidated information, each merchant (even if it works with more than one member) is assigned a unique number, allowing the merchant to be tracked through that number.
When banks complete a merchant application and generate a merchant number, they submit an MIV notification to BKM. As a result of this MIV notification, BKM checks the following information for the relevant merchant:
- Turkish ID Number (TCKN) / Tax ID Number (VKN) — the TCKN is sent for a sole proprietorship, and the VKN for a corporate company.
- Address — it is checked whether the exact same province information is already on record.
Based on the information above, if a number (BKM Unique ID) has already been issued, that same number is also used for this merchant; if not, BKM generates a new BKM Unique ID and forwards it to the merchant's bank.
What happens if the MIV notification is not submitted?
If the MIV notification is not submitted, transactions can still be carried out from the merchant's terminals. These transactions are not blocked online. However, when the clearing file for transactions made with other banks' cards is processed, the system checks whether the merchant has a BKM Unique ID. If a merchant does not have a BKM Unique ID, the corresponding amounts are not credited to that merchant's account. For this reason, to avoid financial problems for merchants, MIV notifications to BKM must be submitted on time and the necessary updates must be made in the system.
