INTRODUCTION - What is Electronic Money?

It can be easily stated that the most prone to digitalization is finance In the age of technology. Technological developments, especially in the last two decades, have led to the rapid digitalization of financial instruments. Moreover, it can be stated that digitalization has accelerated considering the impact of the pandemic on human life. Our age can be defined as the age of easily completing transactions through digital assets while moving away from physical commodities.

At this point, it should be said that the digitalization of banknotes and coins, which have a physical existence, can also be expected. It should also be stated that factors such as the widespread use of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies with nominal value, and the successful completion of the digitalization process by banks have also accelerated this process.

As a result of all these developments, electronic money that entered our lives has been regulated in detail in Turkish legislation. Electronic money or e-money, which can be expressed as a roof concept, will be examined with this article.

ELECTRONIC MONEY IN TURKISH LAW

Electronic money is regulated by the Law on Payment and Securities Settlement Systems, Payment Services and Electronic Money Institutions ("Law") which entered into force for the first time in Turkish law in 2013. Electronic money is defined in the Law as "monetary value that is issued equivalent the funds accepted by the electronic money issuer institution, stored electronically and used to provide the payment transactions defined in the Law and accepted as a means of payment by real and legal persons other than the electronic money issuer institution" and with this regard, it is one of the innovations brought by the technology that enables payments to be made widely to enterprises other than the issuer institution without the use of classical payment methods and provides to save the monetary values electronically.

In this respect, it is one of the innovations brought by the technology that enables payments to be made widely to enterprises other than the issuer institution without the use of classical payment methods and provides to save the monetary values electronically. As a result, electronic money can be used for the purchase of all types of goods and services in any institution that accepts the instrument.

As can be seen from the definition in the Law, electronic money is issued by electronic money institutions under certain conditions. Electronic money institutions are obliged to fulfill certain conditions in order to have the necessary qualifications in accordance with the Law. The features that electronic money institutions should have and their purpose of the establishment are clearly stated in the Law. It is stated in Article 13 of the Law that electronic money institutions are the payment service provider. The process of issuing licenses to institutions that may be authorized to issue electronic money is carried out by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey. There are 29 different legal entities operating as electronic money institutions in Turkey as of the date of this article.

CONCLUSION

Today we see the fact that technology is changing the dynamics of financial transactions and the financial world day by day. It is clear that the regulations of the countries in this regard will be affected by these developments over time and will continue to meet the requirements. Especially, technologies such as blockchain and open banking, which are expected to increase further in the coming years, are expected to develop in our legislation. It can be clearly seen that the recent technological developments have seriously reduced the habit of classical payment instruments that have been used for thousands of years. Considering that people's lives are being digitalized day by day, it even comes to mind that electronic money can be seen as a classical payment tool in the future.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.