Digital Banking

Guided by the vision of not only providing solutions for today’s needs but also shaping the banking experience of the future, Ziraat Katılım strengthens its strategic investments in the field of digital banking, with a strong awareness of the importance of digital transformation in the banking sector.
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By the end of 2024, Ziraat Katılım’s digital customers reached 800,000, and the transactions conducted via our web and mobile channels totaled 28.1 million.
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The Bank strengthens its position in the digital banking market by investing in digital platforms to enhance customer experience. The 31% increase in the digital utilization rate in 2024 year-on-year is an indication of the Bank’s successful endeavors and determination in digitalization.
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In order to expand the Bank’s digital customer base and increase the rate of customer acquisition through digital channels, the Bank carried out customer experience design studies and organized special campaigns for the Bank’s customers acquired through video calls.
Ziraat Katılım, which strengthens its digital banking strategy through collaborations and projects in technology, expands its banking services to third parties and conducts integration tests with fintech and other technological initiatives to achieve its goals of reaching a broader user base and launching innovative financial applications.
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Ziraat Katılım aims to contribute to a more sustainable future in both economic and environmental terms with its digital transformation strategy.
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In 2024, the Bank continued its operations in line with its goal of managing the customer experience more quickly, transparently, and efficiently by increasing the diversity of digital channels through web, Katılım Mobile, Internet Banking applications as well as digital branch, open banking services and ATM developments.

Web, Katılım Mobile, and Internet Branch

Ziraat Katılım enriched its web, mobile, and internet banking applications with new products and services through its digital channel investments in 2024.

• The Digital Approval service was launched to enable corporate customers to grant contract approvals remotely.

• The activities to comply with the criteria required to ensure authentication and transaction security in electronic banking services and the establishment of contractual relationships in the electronic environment were completed.

• Private Banking customers were provided with access to the Private Banking communication line and special bulletins via the Katılım Mobile application.

• Necessary arrangements were made in line with the FAST regulations communicated by the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT).

• Secure Payment service was introduced to customers on Katılım Mobile.

• Development work was completed to offer the Request Payment Service, which is based on the principle that the creditor customer requests payment from the debtor customer and the debtor customer responds to the request, to customers via Katılım Mobile.

• Stock trading transactions in compliance with the principles of participation banking were made available to customers through the Internet Branch and Katılım Mobile channels.

In 2024, the number of Internet and Mobile Banking channel customers increased by 20% year-on-year.

Open Banking and ATM

With the important steps taken in the field of Open Banking in 2024, Ziraat Katılım has made digital banking services more accessible and user-friendly.
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The technical infrastructure has been developed for customers to monitor their accounts at Ziraat Katılım through other banks’ applications and to transfer money from these accounts (HHS), and the Authorized Payment Service Providers (YÖS) function, which enables customers to monitor their accounts at other banks through Katılım Mobile and Internet Branch and to make money transfer transactions with these accounts, was introduced to the service of customers. Making banking transactions more efficient and easier, the Authorized Payment Service Providers service enhances the customer experience and contributes to digital banking.
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Ziraat Katılım established and launched the API Portal infrastructure, which enables customers and fintechs to offer the banking services they need through different interfaces. External developers can utilize banking services through APIs on the Web Developer Portal platform. The Bank’s API Portal, which offers the opportunity to develop new collaborations in Open Banking, facilitates integration with 3rd party applications in the ecosystem and accelerates the transformation in digital banking.
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As part of the efforts for the standardization of the Cardless Transaction Menu at TAM ATMs, the cardless menus of all public bank ATMs were used at Ziraat Katılım ATMs. As a result, a wide range of transactions, including tax payments, institutional collections, municipal payments, and university payments, were enabled at Ziraat Katılım ATMs through the Cardless Menu. GRG ATM certifications were completed, and a total of 30 additional ATMs were deployed at the Bank’s branches during the year.

Digital Branch

Ziraat Katılım launched the Digital Branch service model in 2024 offering a rich Digital Banking experience to customers who prefer digital channels. The Bank continues to work to provide the best service to its customers through its digital portfolio service model. Ziraat Katılım Digital Branch provides services in 4 languages: Turkish, Arabic, English, and Sign Language.
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The Bank organizes programs for the Digital Branch employees hired under the new working model, and carries out activities to ensure effective sales of products and fast and high-quality after-sales services.
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To ensure hearing‑impaired customers have easier and more immediate access to financial services, all staff received sign‑language training, and the number of employees providing services in sign language was increased.
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The Bank ensured that its digital‑branch employees obtained SEGEM certification enabling them to deliver more professional and higher‑quality insurance services to customers. In addition, endeavors are underway for employees to complete their PPS certificates in 2025. Thus, the Bank aims to support its customers with a more specialized service approach in insurance and PPS products.
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In 2024, the Digital Branch acquired 13 thousand new customers, bringing the total number of customers to over 88 thousand by the end of the year. 100% of customers acquired in 2024 were included in the portfolio through video calls.
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In 2024, 98% of the approximately 60 thousand voice calls received by the Digital Branch were answered by customer representatives, and customer banking orders were carried out.
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In 2024, the Digital Branch received a total of approximately 46,000 applications for video calls, 30,000 of which were turned into video calls. Customer representatives answered 81% of video calls. For the calls that could not be answered, customers were contacted through outbound calls on the same day, and the necessary guidance was provided.

2025 Goals

Web, Katılım Mobile, and Internet Branch Goals
‍The Bank is planning to enable the receipt of commercial customer applications via video calls through Katılım Mobile and aims to conclude the work to extend this opportunity to all customer segments.
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It plans to finalize endeavors to enable customers to switch between their personal and corporate accounts during Internet Banking and Mobile Branch sessions.
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As part of the Internet and Mobile Branch renewal project, work is underway to provide customers with a new interface by the end of 2025. The Bank aims to enhance the user experience by updating its infrastructure with the latest technologies and integrating various features requested by customers into its platforms. Also, development processes will be streamlined in line with the best practices in the sector and modernized.
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The Mobile Guarantee service is planned to be launched in order to realize letter of guarantee transactions through digital channels.
The work on designing a special website for Private Banking customers will be completed, and it will be offered for the use of private banking customers.
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The “My Other Banking Orders” function, which allows customers to issue banking orders without having to visit a branch, will be developed and put into service.
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All transactions customers currently perform at branches using their handwritten signatures will be approved and executed through the Internet Branch and Katılım Mobile channels.
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Secure Payment service will be offered to customers at the Internet Branch.

ATM and Open Banking Goals
‍By expanding its existing API portfolio with newly developed APIs, the Bank aims to increase API diversity and improve the customer experience through integrations with various external platforms.
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The Bank plans to continue its endeavors to increase cooperation with fintechs in service model banking and embedded finance.
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Future payment, direct debit, and card activities functions will be added to the Open Banking functions within the scope of OHVPS 2.0.0.
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Digital Branch Goals
‍It is planned to take over the branch customers no longer using products throughout the Bank and activate them with the Digital Branch service model. 

‍Contribution to sustainability goals through digital transformation and innovation endeavors
‍In line with its digital transformation strategy, Ziraat Katılım contributes to its sustainability goals by rapidly digitalizing its business processes and transferring its products and services to digital platforms. The Bank’s digital approval and signature processes help reduce branch visits and lower the Bank’s carbon footprint.
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Through its Digital Banking initiatives, Ziraat Katılım contributes to sustainability objectives by supporting inclusive economic growth, enhancing financial accessibility, and reducing regional inequalities. Ziraat Katılım promotes the use of innovative technological infrastructures through its Open Banking APIs and developer portal and supports the development of the fintech ecosystem and innovation. The Bank reduces its carbon footprint and prioritizes environmental sustainability by expanding paperless banking processes through applications such as digital approval and digital signature.
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APIs launched as part of Open Banking also support the development of sustainable finance products. Leading the green transformation of the participation banking sector by strengthening its mobile and Internet banking channels, the Bank will continue to minimize its environmental impact by investing in green fintech projects in the coming period.

Customer Contact Center

Ziraat Katılım, which integrated the Şikayetvar.com platform into the Notification Management System, started to monitor customers’ notifications received through this channel more effectively on the system. The integration enabled a prompt response to customer notifications, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction.
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Ziraat Katılım broke new ground in the sector by completing the installation of the Automated Call Distribution (ACD) infrastructure for the calls of customers served via video calls in the Digital Branch. Thanks to the ACD, customer experience has been enhanced by ensuring that incoming calls are routed promptly and efficiently to the relevant representatives.
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A push-notification infrastructure was developed and made available to deliver instant informational messages to customers. The aim is to provide the Bank’s customers with the right information at the right time in the fastest way possible.
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In 2024, Ziraat Katılım renewed its ISO 10002:2018 Customer Satisfaction Management System certification, reaffirming its commitment to delivering high-quality service in line with international standards.
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Customer requests/complaints/suggestions received through various channels were analyzed by the developed artificial intelligence-supported model, enabling faster action at the solution stage. Average response time to customer notifications was 1.94 business days.
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The Customer Satisfaction Unit continues to regularly analyze the root causes of customer complaints and take corrective and remedial measures. In 2024, 9 workshops were organized, the results and suggestions obtained were presented to the Bank’s senior management, and improvement action plans were developed accordingly.
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While offering a fast and uninterrupted experience to its customers with a 98% response rate with its customer-oriented service approach, the Customer Contact Center demonstrated high performance by serving 93% of its customers in less than 20 seconds. Customer satisfaction rate was 94% in the post-call surveys conducted to improve service quality.
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As part of the experience studies conducted for digital channel users, topics for improvement were identified for 62 products or services to address user needs. Improvements include process optimizations, user interface enhancements, and accessibility solutions implemented to increase customer satisfaction.