The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey Has Completed the Application Evaluation Process for Its Digital Turkish Lira Project Ecosystem

In the first phase, held between September 4 and October 15, 2025, 85 project applications were submitted, including 16 banks and 25 payment and electronic money institutions. Of these, 51 projects met the first-phase criteria and advanced to the second phase, which ran from November 13 to December 12, 2025. Following document reviews and presentations, 23 projects from 12 banks and 6 payment and electronic money institutions were selected for the third phase, where development activities and sandbox tests will be conducted. Six projects were placed on hold and may join the third phase later.

The 23 projects span multiple categories: 15 in tokenization, 17 in programmable payments, 7 in user-centric identity, 15 in interoperability with existing systems, and 1 in machine-to-machine payments. TCMB said it continues efforts to foster public-private collaboration in financial technologies and the digital lira. "Dijital Türk Lirası Projesi"