Suppose you are a newly established bank. With the synergy that comes from being newly founded, you want to offer customers all products and services. Of course, this is not such an easy thing to do.
First of all, the step in which the bank's own cards are successfully processed through the bank's own ATMs -- called OnUs transaction processing in the world of payment systems -- must be carried out successfully. Although this transaction processing may seem easy since it does not require integration with external connections, it is important that the full set of transactions that can be performed is correctly identified and that the appropriate developments are made accordingly, since it involves nearly all the functions that can be performed at bank branches being made available through ATMs as well.
The bank has completed all its processes in OnUs transaction processing. Is everything complete now?
Of course not. First, the certification and processes that will allow the ATMs to accept other banks' cards must be completed.
How does the process work when you want to accept all bank cards at the ATMs?
First, the bank must decide which payment schemes (MasterCard, Visa, Troy, etc.) will be processed through its ATMs.
Most banks in Turkey obtain MasterCard, Visa and TROY certification. This is because approximately 97% of the cards issued within Turkey's borders are issued under these three brands.
In that case, the bank must negotiate separately with BKM (the Interbank Card Center) for ATM TROY certification, and with MasterCard and Visa for MasterCard and Visa certification, respectively.
If the bank does not already have a membership, a license fee must be paid for the bank's Mastercard, Visa and Troy membership registration.
In addition, separate ATM ACQUIRING certification (acceptance of other banks' cards at ATMs) must be obtained for MasterCard, Visa and Troy. Of course, passing these certifications and obtaining approval is neither easy nor quick, and covers a long period of time. For example, Visa certifications are completed in around 3 months, while on the MasterCard side this period takes 6-8 months. Since Troy is our own national brand, these timeframes are more reasonable compared to MasterCard and Visa.
Do certification processes vary by payment scheme?
Yes, they do. For example, MasterCard does not grant Acquiring certification on its own; Issuer (card) and Acquirer (POS/ATM) certification must be obtained together. There is no such requirement for Visa and Troy. Also, differently for Visa, when you request acquiring certification and state that you want to go through both ATM and POS acquiring certification, you pay a single certification fee. If you go through separate certifications for ATM and POS, you have to pay a separate fee for each, which increases costs.
If I obtain Acquiring certification for ATMs, does that also complete certification for POS terminals?
Since the requirements for ATM and POS certification are different, the certification obtained for ATMs does not cover POS terminals.
So, is obtaining the certifications mentioned above sufficient?
Of course it is not sufficient. Processing other banks' cards through ATMs means that Incoming and Outgoing clearing processes must also be certified. For this reason, clearing certification must also be obtained.
In short, the certifications obtained for credit cards and debit cards are different, and the certifications obtained for ATMs and POS terminals are different. When we consider each as a separate product, it is necessary to go through separate certification for each product. We can easily say that the number of certifications a bank will need to obtain in order to exist in the payment systems world will exceed the fingers of both hands.
