Anglo-Turkish fintech Colendi has received approval from the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA) to launch Turkey's inaugural digital deposit bank. This move signifies a significant step towards accessible banking through digital platforms for the fintech.

Colendi aims to collaborate with premier organizations to offer regulated financial products, ensuring compliance and reaching retail and SME customers. Colendi, Turkey's fintech with 18 million customers, boasts partnerships with entities like Migros and Turkcell. The company has acquired licenses in e-money, asset management, capital markets, and insurance brokerage.

Colendi's payment and credit businesses have seen substantial growth since 2021, while the acquisition of London-based SETL has contributed to their transformative potential. Using proprietary AI-driven technology, ColendiBank seeks to revolutionize user experiences through personalized financial services. The strategic integration of AI underpins its innovative digital deposit and service banking model, facilitating efficient and individualized services, as the company describes it.

With a Series A investment round raising USD 30 million and ongoing Series B success, the firm’s valuation has surged from USD 120 million to USD 750 million. Ian Hannam, the British Chairman of Colendi, expressed excitement about their growth momentum and the company's ambitious plans. Turkey's regulatory environment aligns closely with EU and MENA standards, aiding their expansion into new markets.

Colendi democratizes banking services through a multifunctional banking platform, addressing financial limitations faced by millions without bank accounts or access to loans. Their AI and big data-driven solutions enable fast loan access and distinct financial services, promoting financial literacy and micro-investments for users. Settling over SETL In the summer of 2022 Colendi acquired SETL, an enterprise blockchain company.

Major investors included Citi, Credit Agricole, and Deloitte. SETL's prominent project was based on the Regulated Liability Network (RLN) infrastructure, spanning central banks and commercial institutions. SETL's blockchain at the time supported tokens and scales to a million transactions per second.

With this acquisition Colendi now offers a digital wallet and a decentralized credit scoring engine. .