Use of the domestically developed electronic card payment clearing system Troy has grown rapidly, reaching 35 million in the first half of the year, an increase of 10 million, according to a report on Wednesday.
At the same time, the number of cards is targeted to increase to 50 million by the end of the year.
Interest in the domestic Troy card, launched in 2016, has gained significant momentum in the first half of this year, as both the usage and number of these cards showed notable growth.
Ozan Deniz, General Manager of the Interbank Card Center (BKM), said in an interview with Anadolu Agency (AA) that the number of Troy-branded cards had risen to 25 million by the end of 2023 and reached 35 million in the first half of this year with an increase of 10 million.
He said that as of the end of July, there were 36 million Troy cards, including 9 million credit cards, 19 million debit cards and 8 million prepaid cards.
Moreover, Deniz reported that the market share of Troy cards in card payments exceeded 12% at the end of June.
"In other words, TL 1 out of every TL 8 in card payments is made with the domestic Troy card," he said.
"Every day, both our card numbers and usage share are increasing. We aim to increase Troy's market share to 20% by the end of this year while maintaining this momentum," he added.
Elaborating on the scope of the operations, Deniz recalled that Troy was launched in 2016 with the joint efforts of the Turkish banking and finance sector.
"From the very first day of its operations, Troy has continuously grown in both quantity and volume and has established a significant place in the payment area," he outlined.
"Especially in the past year, this growth has accelerated. Undoubtedly, the biggest factor in this growth is the favor and interest of our citizens in Troy. First and foremost, we feel indebted to thank all our users who have embraced Troy, the brand of our country, and contributed to its success," said Deniz.
"We refer to the technological infrastructure that allows shopping and withdrawing money from ATMs, marked by the logo on the lower right corner of debit, credit and prepaid cards as a card scheme," he explained and continued to explain how it was developed.
"As a card scheme, Troy has been developed with the know-how of Turkish banking, which is at a very advanced level in the world in terms of both digitalization and the variety and practicality of the services it offers, and the expertise and experience of BKM, which is approaching its 35th year in the field of payments," he stated.
Deniz emphasized that with its strong infrastructure, Troy is widely and actively used at every point in Türkiye and is increasing its validity abroad by the day. He added that continuous improvements are being made in the technology and validity of Troy cards with the trust and favor of the citizens, the support of banks and the expertise and knowledge of BKM.
"We continue our work with the principles of financial independence, increasing the predictability of our banking sector, ensuring cost optimization and offering our citizens the most qualified national card brand that they will proudly carry," he said.
"Our most important goal while developing Troy was to create a local and national brand," he added.
Underscoring the economic significance of the card system, Deniz noted that all card and digital payments made domestically can be carried out with the Troy infrastructure.
"With the current level we have reached, we have ensured that an amount that can be expressed in hundreds of millions of Turkish liras remains in our country," said Deniz and concluded by conveying the aim to provide an even higher contribution to the country's economy.