Remote Identification Made Feasible for Fintechs
With the Communiqué on the Amendment to the General Communiqué of the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (Serial No: 19) (Serial No: 25) (Communiqué) published in the Official Gazette dated November 4, 2023, the expected amendment to the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) legislation regarding remote identification (remote customer acquisition) of fintechs were realized.
As known, MASAK Communiqué No. 19 introduced regulations on remote identification methods for financial institutions. For fintechs, although they were obliged to comply with MASAK, they are not regulated under the MASAK Communiqué No. 19 on remote identification.
However, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (TCMB) regulations allowed fintechs to acquire customers remotely. Therefore, fintechs were only subject to the TCMB regulations, but they could not perform remote customer acquisition as the relevant processes were not enabled in the MASAK legislation.
At this stage, the Communiqué enables fintechs to conduct remote customer acquisitions under both the TCMB and MASAK regulations. Accordingly, the TCMB and MASAK regulations on remote customer acquisition for fintechs have become harmonized.
Accordingly, fintechs will now be able to carry out this process in accordance with the regulations in the "Communiqué on Information Systems of Payment and Electronic Money Institutions and Data Sharing Services of Payment Service Providers in the Field of Payment Services", which banks are subject to for remote identification and subsequent processes.
You can reach the relevant Communiqué here (only available in Turkish).
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