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ARTICLE · 04 NOVEMBER 2019

Joint Digital Wallet Of Banks Found Anti-Competitive By TCA

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Turkish Competition Authority revoked the individual exemption granted in 2016 to BKM Express, the joint digital wallet service of 13 leading banks, operated by The Interbank Card Center.

TurkeyAntitrust/Competition Law
Metin Pektaş
Metin Pektaş
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Turkish Competition Authority (TCA) revoked the individual exemption granted in 20161 to BKM Express, the joint digital wallet service of 13 leading banks, operated by The Interbank Card Center (BKM2). TCA also mandated the termination of this activity in 60 days after declaration of reasoned decision3. This is a landmark antitrust intervention of Turkish antitrust watchdog, addressing the rising competition concerns in the newly emerging fintech markets in order to ensure a competitive market structure and pave the way for innovative fintech startups to enter the market and operate effectively.

TCA evaluated the business model and operations of BKM Express in detail with respect to requirements of individual exemption set out in the Article 5 of the Turkish Competition Act. Accordingly, any agreement between competing undertakings can be exempted from the sanctions in case they fulfill following conditions: (a) Ensuring new developments and improvements, or economic

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