New Developments
The Regulation Amending the Regulation on Payment Services and Electronic Money Issuance and Payment Service Providers (the “Amending Regulation”), prepared by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkiye (“CBRT”), was published in the Official Gazette dated 19 March 2026 and numbered 33201. The Amending Regulation introduces amendments to the Regulation on Payment Services and Electronic Money Issuance and Payment Service Providers published in the Official Gazette dated 1 December 2021 and numbered 31676 (the “Regulation”) and entered into force on the date of its publication.
The principal novelty introduced by the Amending Regulation is the authorisation for payment institutions and electronic money institutions (collectively, “Institutions”) to generate overnight yield on customer funds held in protection accounts at the banks where such accounts are maintained. In addition, the end-of-day balance calculation times for protection accounts have been updated, and the scope of attachment and provisional seizure orders has been expanded to cover yield-generation accounts.
New Framework for Yield Generation on Customer Funds
The newly introduced Article 36/A of the Regulation establishes the rules and procedures for Institutions to generate yield on payment funds and funds collected against electronic money issuance. This provision provides a concrete framework for the existing principle under Articles 34 and 35 of the Regulation, which previously stated that overnight yield generation at the bank where the protection account is maintained does not constitute a violation.
Scope and Conditions
Under the new provision, TRY-denominated balances in payment and electronic money protection accounts may be placed in a yield-generation account opened at the banks where the protection accounts are held. Funds denominated in foreign currencies are explicitly excluded from this facility.
Mechanics of Yield Generation
Yield generation is conducted on an overnight basis. The principal and net yield are transferred back to the relevant protection accounts on the following business day, after deduction of the bank’s commission for the yield-generation service and other statutory deductions. The commission rate and calculation methodology must be expressly regulated in the agreement between the Institution and the bank.
Notably, the principal and net yield must be tracked separately. The yield accumulated in the yield-tracking account may be freely used by the Institution. In other words, the yield income derived from customer funds constitutes revenue that Institutions may dispose of at their discretion.
Fund Safety and Liquidity Obligations
During the yield-generation period, the Institution may not use the funds for any other purpose. However, the Institution is required to maintain sufficient funds to make immediate payments relating to its activities under the law and to use such funds for those payments. After the principal and net yield are transferred back to the protection accounts, the Institution may reclaim the amount used for immediate payments to its own accounts by the end of the day, without any interest, fee, or commission.
Furthermore, the preservation of principal is fundamental in yield-generation transactions, and only low-risk and liquid assets may be utilised. In the event that an Institution’s operating licence is temporarily suspended, funds in protection accounts may not be subject to yield generation.
Updated End-of-Day Balance Calculation Times
The Amending Regulation has updated the end-of-day balance calculation times for both payment fund protection accounts and electronic money protection accounts:
| Previous Regulation | New Regulation | |
|---|---|---|
| Full business days | 15:00 | 16:30 |
| Half business days | 11:00 | 12:00 |
This change applies to Article 34(3) (payment funds) and Article 35(3) (electronic money funds) of the Regulation, effectively granting Institutions additional time for end-of-day balance calculations.
Expanded Scope for Attachment and Seizure Orders
Prior to the Amending Regulation, attachment, provisional seizure, and similar administrative and judicial orders concerning the rights and receivables of payment service users were addressed only with respect to banks holding the protection accounts. The amendment now extends this scope to include banks where yield-generation accounts are maintained.
For both payment fund protection accounts (Article 34(2)) and electronic money protection accounts (Article 35(4)), orders received by banks holding yield-generation accounts are to be fulfilled — provided the bank has knowledge of the ultimate beneficial ownership of the relevant funds on a per-customer basis — limited to the relevant funds. The bank must promptly inform the relevant Institution of any such order.
Revised Electronic Money Protection Account Framework
Article 35(3) of the Regulation has been completely recast. Under the previous framework, the end-of-day balance of the electronic money protection account was blocked by the bank in its account held at the CBRT, and the CBRT was authorised to change the balance calculation time.
The new provision removes the blocking mechanism. Instead, it establishes that the end-of-day balance shall be calculated at 16:30 on full business days and 12:00 on half business days. It explicitly confirms that overnight yield generation at the bank does not violate the second and fourth paragraphs of the article, and specifies that the end-of-day balance is to be determined based on the Institution’s records and bank account movements, in alignment with the outstanding electronic money amount.
Amendments to Annexes
Annexes 13 and 14 of the Regulation, which set out the mandatory notices to be displayed at agent premises regarding foreign exchange transactions, have also been updated. The revised annexes reflect that administrative fines ranging from TRY 719,000 to TRY 3,595,000 may be imposed under Law No. 1567 for unauthorised foreign exchange transactions conducted outside the scope of payment services and electronic money issuance.
Conclusion
The Amending Regulation introduces a significant development for the payment and electronic money sector. Institutions will be able to generate overnight yield on TRY-denominated customer funds held in protection accounts, and the resulting yield income may be freely utilised by the Institution. This framework has the potential to make a meaningful contribution to Institutions’ revenue models.
To benefit from this new facility, Institutions should review the contractual arrangements with the banks where their protection accounts are maintained, ensuring that commission rates and calculation methodologies for the yield-generation service are expressly regulated. Additionally, internal control processes should be updated in line with the liquidity obligations and the principle of principal preservation.
Key Takeaways
- Institutions may now generate overnight yield on TRY-denominated balances in payment and electronic money protection accounts.
- Foreign currency-denominated funds are excluded from the yield-generation framework.
- Yield income is tracked separately from principal and may be freely used by the Institution.
- Principal preservation is mandatory; only low-risk and liquid assets may be used in yield-generation transactions.
- End-of-day balance calculation times have been extended from 15:00 to 16:30 on full business days and from 11:00 to 12:00 on half business days.
- The scope of attachment and seizure orders has been expanded to cover yield-generation accounts.
- The Amending Regulation entered into force on the date of its publication (19 March 2026).
For further information: [email protected] | www.semizlaw.com