Turkey launches financial reforms and digital services amid soaring household debt
Member of parliament Gülcan Kış warned that Turkish households owe a total of 6.677 trillion lira in credit‑card, consumer‑loan and overdraft debt, describing the situation as a “debt spiral” that forces families to use credit cards for basic living expenses.
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (TCMB) responded with a series of regulatory and technological measures. It opened a new e‑Devlet service called “Payment and Electronic Money Institution Account Ownership Query,” allowing citizens and legal heirs to view all their digital‑wallet and electronic‑money accounts on a single screen. The same platform helps locate forgotten balances across providers such as Papara, İninal and Paycell.
TCMB also revised its foreign‑exchange conversion support. The new decree removes the previous “no‑purchase” pledge, replaces the blanket restriction with a balance‑sheet‑based position test, and extends the 3 % support rate for exporters, bringing small‑ and medium‑sized manufacturers into the scheme for the first time.
In parallel, the bank completed the first phase of its Digital Turkish Lira project, evaluating 85 proposals and advancing 23 projects that cover tokenisation, programmable payments and user‑controlled identity. Finally, the Central Securities Depository (MKK) received official approval to operate a Crypto Asset Central Registry, giving the crypto‑sector a formal supervisory framework.
Together, these actions illustrate a broad push to modernise Turkey’s financial infrastructure while confronting a rapidly growing household debt burden.
Entities: Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (TCMB) · Central Securities Depository (MKK) · Crypto Asset Central Registry System (KVMKS) · Gülcan Kış · Legal heirs · Merkezi Kayıt Kuruluşu (MKK) · Payment and Electronic Money Institution Account Ownership Query service · Payment and Electronic Money Institutions · Turkish citizens · Türkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankası (TCMB) · e‑Devlet · e‑Devlet portal
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 4 SOURCES] The service lists accounts held at payment and electronic money institutions regulated by the TCMB. (TCMB)
- [● 8 SOURCES] The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (TCMB) developed a new e‑Devlet service called “Payment and Electronic Money Institution Account Ownership Query”. (TCMB)
- [● 7 SOURCES] Legal heirs can also query the accounts of deceased relatives through the service. (TCMB)
- [● 2 SOURCES] The service became operational on 2 August 2026. (TCMB)
- [● 8 SOURCES] Access to the service is via the e‑Devlet portal using a national ID number and password (or other approved authentication). (TCMB)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The service does not display account balances, only the existence of active or passive accounts. (TCMB)
- [● 8 SOURCES] The service allows individuals to view all their payment and electronic money accounts on a single screen. (TCMB)