Ankara, 23 May 2025 — The Turkish Competition Authority has ruled that existing cooperation agreements underpinning the World Credit Card Program must be revised to comply with national competition law, or risk losing their exemption status.
Following a detailed examination launched in April 2022, the Competition Board has partially withdrawn the individual exemption previously granted to the program’s cooperation agreements. While some restrictive provisions have been deemed acceptable under the law, others were found to unnecessarily limit competition among participating banks.
The decision, dated 9 May 2025 (No. 25-18/421-197), centers on restrictions that prevent member banks from:
- Providing services to merchants enrolled in other member banks’ World Programs;
- Participating in alternative joint-brand card programs; and
- Engaging in advertising and promotions that directly target customers of other member banks.
These clauses, the Board ruled, may continue to benefit from individual exemption under Article 5 of Law No. 4054. However, it concluded that the cooperation agreements as a whole imposed excessive restrictions on competition, breaching Article 5.1(d) of the Competition Law.
To retain their exemption status, the Board set out several mandatory changes:
- Merchant Bidding Restrictions: Banks must be allowed to offer services to merchants seeking to switch providers, even if they are currently in a World merchant relationship with another bank.
- Elimination of Waiting Periods: Banks must be free to immediately serve merchants whose World contracts with other banks have expired.
- Fee Autonomy: Member banks must be free to independently set card fees and credit card interest rates.
- Card Switching Periods: Customers leaving the World Program must be given a card-switching period of at least nine months.
The Authority has given the parties nine months to implement these changes. If the revised agreements are not submitted within this period, or if cooperation under the current terms continues, enforcement action will be taken.
The World Credit Card Program is one of Turkey’s most prominent joint card initiatives, involving multiple major banks. The Competition Authority’s ruling is likely to reshape how member institutions collaborate under the program, introducing greater flexibility for merchant and consumer choice.
