EFT (Elektronik Fon Transferi) in the Turkish context refers to the Central Bank of Türkiye (TCMB)-operated inter-bank funds-transfer system — the principal high-value real-time gross-settlement (RTGS) infrastructure for transfers between Turkish banks. The EFT system processes transfers in Turkish lira between participant banks in real-time gross settlement, providing the foundational infrastructure for the Turkish payments ecosystem. The EFT acronym in Türkiye specifically refers to this TCMB system; the broader U.S. usage of “EFT” for any electronic-fund transfer has a Turkish-specific meaning here.
The TCMB operates three principal payment systems: (i) EFT (Electronic Fund Transfer System) — high-value RTGS for TRY-denominated inter-bank transfers, processing payments individually and irrevocably with central-bank settlement; (ii) FAST (Fonların Anlık ve Sürekli Transferi) — instant payment system launched 2021, enabling 24/7/365 transfers up to defined limits with near-immediate settlement, comparable to EU SEPA Instant or UK Faster Payments; (iii) RPS (Retail Payment System) — retail payment infrastructure for card-based and bulk-transfer processing.
EFT system architecture and rules include: operating hours typically 09:00–17:30 on business days (significant constraint vs. FAST’s 24/7 availability); per-transaction limits with minimum thresholds and high upper limits suitable for corporate and high-value transactions; participation requirements — only TCMB-authorized banks participate directly; non-bank fintechs access EFT indirectly through correspondent-banking relationships with EFT-participant banks; fee structure set by TCMB with regulatory price controls; and settlement finality — EFT transfers are irrevocable once settled, providing certainty for high-value transactions.
The 2021 introduction of FAST represented a major modernization of the Turkish payments infrastructure — addressing the principal limitation of EFT (limited operating hours, not suitable for retail transactions). FAST processes transfers in seconds, operates around the clock, has consumer-oriented per-transaction limits (currently TRY 10,000 per transfer with daily aggregate limits), and has rapidly become the default for inter-bank consumer transfers. Fintechs are integrating FAST-aware product flows for instant disbursements, real-time payments, and consumer-facing payment experiences.
For Turkish fintechs handling fund movements, EFT and FAST integration mechanics are operationally critical: (i) correspondent banking arrangements with EFT/FAST-participant banks (since fintechs are not direct TCMB participants); (ii) fee-and-limits passthrough to customers — balancing service economics with customer expectations; (iii) operational-hours coordination — designing customer experiences that handle EFT’s business-hours limitation gracefully; (iv) reconciliation and error-handling — building robust ops processes for failed/delayed transfers; and (v) compliance integration — every EFT/FAST transaction is subject to MASAK monitoring obligations. Vircon Legal advises Turkish fintechs on payment-infrastructure integration strategy — correspondent-banking partnership negotiation, fee/limit/experience design, operational-process architecture, and the coordination of payment-infrastructure dependencies with broader licensing and compliance strategy.