Turkey Has Specified The Requirements For Obtaining "Digital-Only Bank" License

The banking industry is undergoing massive digital disruption. Within this disruption, digital-only banks ("digital banks") have received significant attention in recent years thanks to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic since the same has revealed that digital solutions have become a necessity rather than a preference.

However, the legal status of digital banks (or neo banks, or challenger banks) is still in limbo at the legal side in many countries since the existing regulations have been prepared with the aim to regulate conventional banking.

Turkey, which already has a successful background and know-how in the digital part of banking, has recently taken a big step to overcome this ambiguity. For this purpose, The Regulation on the Operating Principles of Digital Banks and Service Model Banking ("Regulation"), drafted by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency ("BRSA"), has been published. The same has entered into force on 1 January 2022.