Fintech's Pioneering Path Forward: Visa Innovation Program Europe Türkiye Summit

On 9 January 2024 at Kolektif House Levent, Visa Innovation Program Europe Türkiye Summit marked a defining moment in the fintech sector. This event, a pivotal moment for fintech innovation in Türkiye, brought together a diverse array of participants, including industry leaders, innovators, and fintechs. It provided a platform for sharing insights, fostering partnerships, and showcasing groundbreaking solutions.In the summit, the fintechs had the chance to demonstrate how they leveraged their products and services within the program and their potential to transform the payments ecosystem. We extend our deepest gratitude to all participants whose contributions made this event a milestone in fostering fintech innovation and collaboration.

The Visa Innovation Program Europe, which is powered by Hackquarters by Tenity in Turkey, is an equity-free pilot-centered collaboration platform spanning Europe. The program enables fintechs to solve the payment and commerce challenges of tomorrow, further enhance their own product propositions and provide visionary solutions for Visa’s vast network of partners. The program appeals to Fintech targeting to unlock new payment flows, advance next-gen payment experiences, empower SMEs, and build a smarter and sustainable future and embedded finance. This year, with 55 applications received for Türkiye, the program shortlisted 10 promising fintechs, ultimately selecting 5 to reshape the financial landscape.

Over the years, the program has witnessed a remarkable journey. Since 2019, it has received 458 applications, meticulously shortlisting 61 and ultimately selecting 25 for the program. In addition, the program has facilitated over 200 mentorship sessions and 290+ hours of training and workshops. These sessions have nurtured the participating fintechs, providing them with invaluable guidance, expertise, and insights to refine their products and strategies.

The summit kicked off with opening remarks by Kaan Akın of Hackquarters by Tenity and Jak Telyaz of Visa. They highlighted the program's key achievements and set the tone for an afternoon of insightful discussions.

Jak emphasized the pivotal goals set for the upcoming period, highlighting the commitment to fostering growth and diversification in the card payments market. The objectives include supporting new players and fintech solutions, expanding the influence of Turkish fintechs globally, and integrating them into an international innovation ecosystem.

Emphasizing the program's evolving focus, Kaan underscored a strategic shift towards international expansion in the fintech sector, aligning with the broader vision of global impact.

Subscription Management and Payment Optimization

Moderated by Melihcan Yücel from Visa, the first panel featured Deniz Okumuş from Abonesepeti and Hakan Erdoğan from Craftgate. They discussed the challenges and innovations in subscription management and payment optimization. They shared how their participation in the Visa Innovation Program Europe helped them enhance their product offerings and address specific issues in the payment sector.

Green Economy and Digitalization

The second panel, led by Onur Devran Çakır from Visa, focused on integrating fintech solutions in promoting a green economy and digitalization. Umut Gökçen Yılmaz of Agrio Finans, Metin Karabiber from Enqura, and Fuad Heydarlı from Recepta discussed how their fintech solutions shape sustainable practices in the digital economy. They shared their experiences in developing solutions that advance financial technology and contribute to environmental sustainability.

Innovation and Collaboration

The final panel, moderated by Samile Mumin from Visa, explored the themes of innovation and collaboration within the fintech ecosystem. Sezgin Lüle from İş Bankası and Evren Şahin from Yapı Kredi provided their perspectives on how traditional financial institutions are adapting to technological advancements and collaborating with fintech startups. They discussed the importance of partnerships in driving innovation and growth.

Meet the Fintechs

Abonesepeti: is a subscription management platform that helps you subscribe, manage and unsubscribe your subscriptions in one app. Members can manage subscriptions, lower their bills, build budgets and automatically set aside money to reach their savings goals.

Agrio Finans: ​​is an impact-oriented financial technology solution that prepares the Agriculture and Food economy for Greendeal. The solution enables the issuance of green deal-compliant digital assets for the agriculture and food supply chain with a usage of governed financial authorization.

Craftgate: is a comprehensive payment orchestration solution that empowers you to seamlessly integrate and manage multiple virtual POSs, payment service providers, and alternative payment methods through a unified dashboard.

Enqura: is a super fast ID Verification platform including Identity card, face verification and multi factor customer authentication, based on Enqura's state of the art “AI on Mobile Edge” technology. Digitally onboard your customers in less than 1 minute!

Recepta: is a platform that helps businesses to offer customized paper and digital receipts to their customers, without requiring any personal information like email or phone number at checkout. Recepta uses the payment card number to identify the customer, ensuring that customers are protected from spam emails, calls, and marketing messages.

As the Visa Innovation Program Europe Turkey Summit  wrapped up, it was clear that the day had been more than just a series of talks and panels. It was a testament to Turkey's vibrant and rapidly evolving fintech landscape and a reminder of the endless possibilities when innovative minds collaborate. We look forward to the continued growth and success of these fintechs and eagerly anticipate the next chapter in this exciting journey. Stay tuned for future editions of the Visa Innovation Program Europe!

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