Ticaret Bakanlığı (Türkiye’s Ministry of Trade) announced that the start date for the mandatory Güvenli Ödeme Sistemi in real estate sales had been rescheduled to December 1 due to technical infrastructure and integration preparations. A regulatory amendment made on April 29 had stipulated that, when the payment was made in cash, by bank transfer or by electronic funds transfer, the transaction would be carried out through the system. The system aims to reduce the risks of fraud and forgery, prevent unregistered activity and make money transfers more secure. It was reported that banks’ work was ongoing as the data-sharing infrastructure between the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre (TKGM) and the banks was being prepared. The designation of an integrator is also planned. Once the banking infrastructures are completed, a pilot implementation will be launched.
Why it matters
The regulation links the payment stage in real estate purchases and sales to a joint infrastructure to be established with banks and the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre, rather than leaving it solely to the parties’ preferences. Therefore, the process, particularly in transactions where the sale price is paid in cash, by bank transfer or by electronic funds transfer, has also become dependent on the level of preparedness of the banks, as well as that of the buyers and sellers. The extent to which the implementation reduces the risks of fraud, forgery and unregistered activity can only be assessed once the data-sharing and money-transfer mechanisms become operational. For now, the outstanding issues are when the banking infrastructures will be completed, the scope of the pilot implementation and how the integrator that will support the system will be selected; these issues will shape the impact of the requirement in practice.