BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 13. Card payments
account for more than 80% of retail trade in Türkiye, reflecting
the expansion of e-commerce and growing demand for digital payment
services, Deputy General Manager for Member Relations and Marketing
at Türkiye’s national card payment system TROY, Cengiz Değirmenci,
said on Tuesday at the Baku Fintech Sector Trade Mission Program,
Trend’s correspondent
reports from the event.
According to Değirmenci, cooperation among banks and the
development of a unified infrastructure have played an important
role in the growth of Türkiye’s payment ecosystem. Established with
the participation of 13 banks, the system forms a key part of the
country’s payment infrastructure.
He said that since its launch, the system has provided card
transaction processing, clearing and settlement services. In
subsequent stages, various additional services have been integrated
into the infrastructure to enhance security, simplify transactions
and meet the needs of banks and fintech companies.
“The main goal in the payment ecosystem is to make transactions
more efficient and simplify processes. To achieve this,
technological solutions and value-added services are being
developed to meet the needs of banks and fintech companies,” he
said.
Değirmenci emphasized that a key feature of Türkiye’s payment
infrastructure is the processing of transactions across different
card systems through a unified, centralized infrastructure.
According to him, this approach simplifies transaction management
and improves the efficiency of the payment ecosystem.
He divided the development of card payment systems in Türkiye
into three broad stages.
In the first stage, banks played the leading role in
establishing and expanding the market. The main priorities during
this period were increasing card adoption, speeding up payments,
ensuring security and making transactions more convenient for
users.
In the second stage, the focus shifted to organizing the retail
sector and increasing the number of customers using cards.
Expanding the ability of retail outlets to accept card payments
helped the market grow.
According to Değirmenci, customer behavior and preferences began
to play a greater role in the development of card payments in the
subsequent stage.
“Users now know that cards are a secure, fast and widely
accepted means of payment. They also recognize the economic
benefits of using cards,” he said.
He added that the expansion of e-commerce, particularly after
the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerated the growth of card payments.
This trend has become more pronounced over the past five years,
with card payments now accounting for more than 80% of retail trade
in Türkiye.
Addressing new payment technologies, the TROY representative
said QR codes and near-field communication (NFC) should be viewed
as methods of executing payments rather than separate payment
methods. Account-based payments, meanwhile, are developing as an
alternative model to traditional card payments.
“QR codes and NFC are technologies used to execute payments,
while account-based payments represent a different payment model.
For these models to work efficiently, technical, financial and
operational processes must be properly coordinated,” he said.
Değirmenci noted that NFC use has expanded in Türkiye, while
QR-code payments are available at retail outlets through various
payment infrastructures. QR codes can facilitate transactions
through both card-based infrastructure and Türkiye’s instant
payment system.
According to him, one advantage of QR-code technology is its
potential to connect different devices and payment infrastructures
within a unified framework. While device compatibility is important
for NFC, QR codes can provide a common solution for users with
different technological capabilities.
The TROY representative emphasized that the shift from card
payments to instant payments depends on more than technology alone.
Funding costs, users’ payment habits and the extent to which debit
cards are used across different sectors also influence the
process.
Değirmenci said the main challenge in developing new payment
models was not simply introducing new technologies, but ensuring
coordination across the entire payment ecosystem. This approach
could help create a more efficient, secure and accessible payment
environment for banks, fintech companies, retailers and
consumers.
