1 June AtoZForex, Vilnius — There are many geographies people want to but can not use PayPal. This case is mostly applicable in Africa and Asia where there is massive demand for PayPal money. So much that people often go through extra measures to appear from different locations that PayPal can accept them. But this time, there is trouble with PayPal itself.
Turkey is moving on Strict Financial Regulation, even so that Turkey has been trying to get its information technology business sector under more control through various measures and regulations. As a result, the global online payment platform valued $46 billion – PayPal shuts down in Turkey, after failing to obtain a license from Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency or BDDK (Bankacilik Düzenleme Ve Denetleme Kurumu) in English Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA).
PayPal shuts down in Turkey: why?
PayPal is a US-based company which is trying to build local “chapters” in each country, where they provide their services. It has been quite tough in Turkey, as the company tried repeatedly to get the proper license.
BDDK / BRSA is the Turkish authority responsible for regulating and licensing payment systems and banking in all electronic and conventional platforms. As PayPal Turkey explained in the statement, the Agency refused to grant the license to the company several times. Apparently, it is about the new regulations that require the business to be located within the borders of Turkey.
PayPal spokesperson commented about the decision to shut down in the following way:
Our suspension of services is a result of new national regulations overseen by the BDDK that require PayPal to fully localize our information technology systems in Turkey. We respect Turkey’s desire to have information technology infrastructure deployed within its borders, however, PayPal utilizes a global payments platform that operates across more than 200 markets, rather than maintaining local payments platforms with dedicated technology infrastructure in any single country.
“What about my money?”
Possibly more people are concerned with what will happen to their assets rather than PayPal shutting down. As the result of the decision, Turkish customers will no longer be able to send or receive money starting from June 6, 2016. But do not panic: PayPal provided clear instructions for transferring significant assets to the regular bank accounts and added that it will continue trying to get necessary permissions to wrap up its operations in Turkey. That means that customers can log in to their PayPal and withdraw any balance they have to any Turkish bank account.
What is next?
The failure to get the license from BDDK will affect tens and thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of clients. However, some say that after PayPal shuts down in Turkey, folk might turn to Bitcoin as a viable replacement. The cryptocurrency is globally accepted, can be converted to and from nearly any currency in the world and more important – there is no central authority that can shut it down.
Do you think Bitcoin can become a right alternative to PayPal? Let us know your opinion in the comments below!
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