Soner Canko

Contactless payments via credit and debit cards have soared across Turkey in February and March, the Interbank Card Center (BKM) chairperson has said.

Payments made by contactless cards and mobile payments constituted some 15 percent of all market or store shopping in February, some 10 percent higher than the rate in the same month of 2019, Soner Canko said.

Turkey is introducing a new electronic card payment clearing system called TROY, the InterBank Card Center (BKM) announced on April 28.        

"We are ready. Since April 1, TROY has been available at all swiping machines and ATMs," Soner Canko, chairman of the card center, told a press conference.        

The number of banking cards surpassed 171 million in Turkey in 2015, a 15 percent increase from the previous year, making the country the largest card-carrying market in Europe, the Interbank Card Center (BKM) has said in a written statement.

Turkey has launched a new electronic card payment clearing system, the InterBank Card Center (BKM) has announced Sept. 30.  

The system, named "TROY," will be operational from April 1, 2016, the Center said.

"It is time that Turkey used its [own] payment system," Soner Canko, chairman of the Istanbul-based BKM, said on Sept. 30.

The electronic commerce volume in Turkey increased by 35 percent in 2014 from the previous year, reaching 18.9 billion Turkish Liras ($7 billion), according to the Istanbul-based Informatics Industry Association (TÜB?SAD).