About TKPAY

TKPAY General Manager Mustafa Ekmen shared detailed information regarding TKPAY’s establishment process, objectives, and the financial technologies it will offer.

Ekmen stated the following:

Today, I will first tell you a little about Turkish Airlines Electronic Money and Payment Services Inc.—or TKPAY for short. TKPAY is an electronic money and payment institution that was established at the end of 2023 and obtained both electronic money and payment licenses from the Central Bank in March 2025. What are the main reasons for Turkish Airlines entering this sector with a brand like TKPAY? Turkish Airlines is a global brand that transports over 80 million customers annually and flies to more than 250 destinations. Consequently, it possesses a massive customer base. This large customer base also translates into a huge annual payment volume and significant turnover—we are talking about revenues exceeding 20 billion. The idea behind TKPAY emerged when we considered how to leverage this vast base to create financial value for both the customers and the organization across the entire travel ecosystem. TKPAY was established to provide the necessary financial technologies to the entire travel ecosystem, with the primary objective of offering embedded financial services for both Turkish Airlines and AJT. What stage are we at now? We obtained our licenses in March, and TKPAY is currently developing its wallet, payment provider services, and corporate solutions, while piloting them within a closed-loop system at Turkish Airlines. All our processes and pilot programs are in place, and our plans are progressing according to schedule. Over the next few months, we will begin making this available to the entire sector and all our customers. The wallet is the feature generating the most curiosity. What will we do with the wallet? What will we offer our customers? Similar to other wallets they use, this will be an application where customers can complete the onboarding process entirely digitally, backed by comprehensive security measures. Once registered with our app, they will be able to open their wallets and load funds from other banks. Using these loaded funds, they will be able to easily purchase tickets and make other payments—primarily with Turkish Airlines—and conveniently receive refunds directly into their wallets if needed. We will offer campaigns, cashback rewards, and discounts tailored to our customers’ profiles and travel details, such as their destinations, travel companions, and length of stay. We will provide these benefits not only for Turkish Airlines and AJT services but also for all other travel-related needs, including shopping, transportation, hotels, and car rentals. Before entering this sector, we examined the existing financial technology landscape—looking at the entire travel ecosystem, from aviation through to hotels, rentals, and transportation—and found no such example in Türkiye. While there are over 80 payment and electronic money institutions, hundreds of fintechs, and dozens of banks providing various services, we did not see a venture that truly took ownership of the customer experience. We are precisely that kind of venture, and we view this as an opportunity. Customers have specific needs that differ from standard transactions; key examples include cancellations, refunds, and inter-institutional reconciliation processes. We position ourselves to meet the needs of both individual customers and institutions exactly as they desire, and we view this as a significant opportunity. Secondly, the entire travel experience is a process that begins with flight planning and the flights themselves—both domestic and international. Another advantage for TKPAY is that Turkish Airlines and AJT are at the very heart of this ecosystem. Turkish Airlines and AJT offer a wide range of services and conveniences to customers, adding value through Türkiye’s most powerful loyalty program, Miles&Smiles. We view this as a significant opportunity for TKPAY. We plan to offer opportunities, campaigns, and solutions tailored to our customers’ profiles, past spending habits, and travel needs. Key among these will be our closed-loop and open-loop wallet solutions, which customers can choose to use based on their specific requirements. The value we create will grow as we gain a deeper understanding of our customers. We also view the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence—one of today’s most critical topics—as a major opportunity. We are developing our entire technological infrastructure with this in mind. A top priority for our organization is developing solutions that enable hyper-segmentation and hyper-personalization for our customers. We are working to become the ultimate travel companion—an embedded service that is always by their side, allowing them to travel without worrying about the payment process. We observe various institutions in Türkiye introducing innovative products like “buy now, pay later” to consumers. At TKPAY, we plan to offer similar solutions—in collaboration with Turkish Airlines, AJT, and other partners—to ensure a seamless experience for customers regarding payments and travel financing. Regulatory compliance, data privacy, and data protection are paramount to TKPAY; we handle customer data with the utmost care and sensitivity. We conduct our operations in 100% compliance with regulatory frameworks such as the KVKK (Personal Data Protection Law) in Turkey and the GDPR globally. We aim to be the most trusted partner for our customers when it comes to payments. We want our customers to feel completely secure when opening TKPAY wallets, undergoing remote identity verification, depositing funds, or registering their cards. We aspire to be a payment platform that earns our customers’ trust by leveraging our infrastructure, robust internal control processes, and the continuous integration of cutting-edge technology. Turkish Airlines possesses a vast technology team; at TKPAY, we will replicate the secure, large-scale service that this team has provided to tens of millions of global customers for years. I am confident that our customers will trust TKPAY—as well as the payment products, wallets, and cards we offer. Digital wallets represent one of the finest examples of embedded finance today. Users utilize a variety of wallets; personally, I find myself using the wallets associated with the services I frequent most. They offer great convenience and security, while also streamlining operations for institutions—enabling real-time customer communication, efficient campaign management, and rapid operational execution. What should we look for as consumers? Whether acting as TKPAY or as a user, the fundamental factor I consider is the value proposition of the wallet: the experience it offers, the financial benefits it provides, and its reliability. These three elements—what a brand promises and how trustworthy it is—should be the primary criteria. There are already institutions in Türkiye excelling in this field, and TKPAY aims to take the lead.