Sanal POS for a Turkish company with a foreign founder: what the bank or payment institution asks

A Turkish Ltd. or A.Ş. with a foreign founder can apply for online card acceptance, but the provider decides. It reviews the company papers, the owners and the website, and may refuse without a detailed explanation. This guide describes who offers sanal POS, what is normally requested and where applications stall, as of 6 November 2026. No fees or timelines are given, because providers do not publish firm ones.

Who provides sanal POS: banks and payment institutions

Online card acceptance in Türkiye comes from two kinds of provider: banks, and payment institutions licensed by the Central Bank (TCMB). The licensing basis is Law No. 6493 on payment services; Article 12 lists the services an institution may be licensed for, and for item (c) the licence scope is acquiring of payment instruments.

The TCMB publishes the list of licensed institutions and shows what each may do, so check a provider’s name there before you sign. Whoever you choose, the contract is with your company, not with the founder personally.

Ask each provider which card brands, currencies and checkout methods its contract covers, and get the scope in writing. These details differ between providers and can matter if you sell to customers abroad.

• Bank: often linked to a commercial account at that bank
• Licensed payment institution: its own application and contract
• Unlisted intermediary: verify the name on the TCMB list first

Company documents and the founder

A bank’s list for companies typically includes the trade registry gazette, an activity certificate, the signature circular and the tax plate. İş Bankası, for example, also asks for the identity documents of the partners. Akbank’s guide adds bank account details and company address information.

When the founder or a shareholder is foreign, expect the provider to check the ownership chain and the identity of each owner. If a shareholder is itself a company, its registry extract and charter may be requested, often translated and sometimes apostilled. Names and numbers must match across all documents.

Ask the provider whether it accepts ordinary translations or wants certified ones, and how recent each paper must be. Prepare the set once and reuse it for every provider you approach.

• Trade registry gazette and activity certificate
• Signature circular and tax plate
• Passport or ID of each partner
• Charter and registry extract of a corporate shareholder, if any

ETBİS and the website

Providers of e-commerce who sell goods or services must register in ETBİS (the Ministry of Trade’s e-commerce information system) before they start. A legal entity is notified through e-Devlet by an authorised representative, using the MERSİS number, the tax number and the domain name. Changes must be reported within 30 days, and cross-border sales are reported yearly.

Banks also review the site itself. Their guides mention an SSL certificate, products or services visibly offered, a distance sales agreement, a cancellation and refund policy, a privacy policy, clear contact and company details, and delivery terms.

The representative must pass identity verification through MERSİS; anyone who fails verification cannot be registered. Do this early, because an unregistered site may raise questions during the review.

• ETBİS registration done before applying
• Distance sales contract and returns policy published
• Real products, prices and contact details visible

Timeline and the stages

No bank or institution page we checked states a fixed processing time, so any date is an estimate. Akbank’s guide only notes that bank applications can take longer than those with payment institutions. Ask the provider for its current timing in writing, and plan the website launch around it.

The stages are generally the same everywhere.

Treat the first answer as a request for more documents rather than a refusal; providers often come back with questions about the business model or the products sold. Answer with one consistent set of papers.

Common reasons for refusal and limits

The guides we checked name a few causes: a site with no products on it, missing contracts or policies, and documents that do not fit the company type. Beyond these, each provider applies its own risk criteria, and it is not obliged to give detailed reasons.

Foreign ownership does not bar an application, but it can lengthen the review. Distance-sales and consumer rules apply to online sales, so have a lawyer review your contracts. A refusal at one provider does not rule out another, though each application is assessed separately.

Keep a copy of every document you submit, with the date, so a second application elsewhere starts from the same consistent file.

• Empty or unfinished website
• Missing distance sales contract or refund policy
• Inconsistent names or addresses across documents
• Ownership structure the provider cannot verify

Sources

• tcmb.gov.tr — Central Bank: payment institutions licensed under Article 12 of Law No. 6493, list and licence scope (acquiring of payment instruments)
• ticaret.gov.tr — Ministry of Trade: ETBİS registration and notification rules (Communiqué under Law No. 6563)
• isbank.com.tr — İş Bankası: POS application and documents for companies (example of a bank’s list)
• akbank.com — Akbank: how a sanal POS is obtained, documents and website requirements
• erdem-erdem.av.tr — law-firm commentary on the Central Bank guide treating virtual POS as a licensable service (secondary copy; mevzuat.gov.tr blocks automated access)

Questions