Our Managing Partner, Erdem Mümtaz Hacıpaşaoğlu, has joined the FinTech Future Council convened by Dijitalpark Teknokent and took part in the council’s first session, held at Tech in Cube, Dijitalpark Teknokent’s Ataşehir campus.
The council brings together leaders, experts and opinion leaders from across the financial technology ecosystem. Within the council, Mümtaz brings the legal and regulatory perspective to the table.
The first session
At the first session, the council discussed three things:
- strategic roadmaps for the future of the sector;
- new opportunities for collaboration; and
- the priorities that will support the sustainable growth of the ecosystem.
Going forward, the council aims to become a reference point that recognises the best in fintech (“FinTech’in Enleri”).
FinTech İstanbul announced the council on 9 October 2026. According to the announcement, artificial intelligence, open finance, digital banking, payment systems, digital assets and new financial service models are at the top of the council’s agenda, together with fintechs’ access to capital, regulatory compliance, profitability and international expansion.
Why the regulatory voice matters
Many decisions that shape Turkish fintech are regulatory: payment and e-money licensing by the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (TCMB), the crypto-asset service provider regime under the Capital Markets Board (SPK), MASAK obligations, open banking and data rules. Founders and investors plan around these rules from the first day. We follow them closely and write about them regularly, from our guide to payment and e-money institution licences to our note on MASAK obligations for fintechs.
This is not our first work with Dijitalpark Teknokent. In December 2025, at the same campus, Mümtaz chaired and acted as rapporteur of the Regulation Committee at the İSTKA-FINTECH Open Innovation Workshop.
Council members
The council members, as listed in FinTech İstanbul’s announcement:
- Prof. Dr. Tahsin Engin, General Manager, Dijitalpark Teknokent
- Tolga Bildirici, Deputy General Manager, Dijitalpark Teknokent
- Koray Gültekin Bahar, Co-founder and CEO, Figopara
- Serhat Şener, Founder, Fintechium
- Prof. Dr. Selim Yazıcı, Faculty Member, Istanbul University, and Co-founder, FinTech İstanbul
- Özgür Bilgin, General Manager, Aktif Tech
- Erdem Mümtaz Hacıpaşaoğlu, Managing Partner, Vircon Legal
- Dr. Soner Canko, Management and Strategy Consultant
- Tülin Çakmak, Founder, NovaForm
- Funda Güleç Yalçın, Editor-in-Chief, Fintechtime
- Deniz Devrim Cengiz, General Manager and Board Member, ColendiBank
- Sinan Erdem Özer, Deputy General Manager for Technology and Operations, Odeabank
- Kutay Yalınkılınç, Co-founder, Pars VC
- Mesut Menderes Karaboğa, Istanbul Topkapı University
- Mehmet Dolgan, General Manager and Chairman of the Board, BaseFunder
- Oktay Namver, Portfolio Manager, Arz Portföy Venture Capital
- Dr. Bilal Sucubaşı
In the press
- FinTech İstanbul: FinTech Future Council duyuruldu (9 October 2026)
- Fintechtime: FinTech Future Council İlk Toplantısını Gerçekleştirdi (9 October 2026)
- Fundalina: FinTech Future Council İlk Kez Toplandı (8 October 2026)
We thank Dijitalpark Teknokent and Tech in Cube for convening the council, and all council members for their valuable views and contributions.
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More on this area: our Fintech & Payments Law page.
