Guide to Open Banking Services is Published

The Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (TCMB) has published the “Guide to Data Sharing Services in Payment Services” (Guide) on “open banking” services on 30 December 2022.

Open banking (open bank data) aims to provide better and faster services to customers. In this context, it ensures that the data in the financial system is made available to third-party service providers with the explicit consent of the customer. Open banking services allows customers to access all data in their financial accounts from a single screen and initiate their transactions. Moreover, open banking services in Turkey are regulated and supervised by the TCMB.

In the Guide, open banking activity is defined; “payment initiation service” (m.12/f) and “account information service” (m.12/g) included in Law on Payment and Securities Settlement Systems, Payment Services and Electronic Money Institutions (Law) and license and certification processes for these two services are explained. Within the scope of the open banking business model, the Guide also includes explanations for some business models that are frequently encountered in the field of payments.

Below some of the most significant issues included in the Guide:

• In the Guide, open banking activity; “payment initiation service (PIS)” and “account information service (AIS)” included in Law are defined as open banking activities. Related services could be briefly described as follows: AIS: Compiling and presenting information about the customer’s accounts in more than one organization on the online platform. PIS: It is the mediation of the customer to place a payment order from their account with another payment service provider.
• In the Guide, it has been evaluated whether an operating permit is required for different business models in the industry. However, it was highlighted that the final assessment would be made by the TCMB.
• AIS, basically consists of two stages as “establishing consent” and “receiving account information”. In this context, the criteria for classifying a service as AIS, are detailed in the Guide.
• The Guide states that PIS and AIS do not constitute a prerequisite for each other. In this context, it is stated that it is possible to apply for a license for both services separately or to apply for both at the same time.

The Guide also contains guiding information on how PIS and AIS shall be evaluated. In this context, business models have been analyzed under various scenarios and whether it requires a license or not has been explained. The Guide shall be a guideline in open banking services.

You can reach the full text of the Guide here (Only available in Turkish).

Tagged with: Gökçe, Yağmur Yollu, Elif Aksöz, Fintech