Can you provide information about the solutions Architecht offers to the financial world and the areas you focus on?

As a technology company that primarily serves the banking and finance sector, we focus on areas such as digital banking, core banking, investment banking, supplier financing, consumer financing, open banking, card payment systems, treasury products, financial cloud, and security technologies. We provide core banking platform services to 10 different banks in Turkey. This includes both traditional banks and licensed digital banks. In addition, many different financial institutions around the world also prefer our financial technology solutions. Our customer portfolio is quite diverse; many banks aiming to gain a competitive advantage in the sector use Architecht’s up-to-date and reliable technology products. Our goal is to offer our customers reliable, innovative, and customizable financial technology services to increase their satisfaction and maintain their efficiency.

Which of your applications stand out in service exports?

Architecht offers deep expertise in Core Banking Platforms, which play a key role in the financial sector. These platforms enable financial institutions to manage their core functions efficiently and in full compliance with regulations, allowing banks to manage the financial services they offer to customers more effectively. As you know, we previously designed a core banking software to be used by over 60 banks in 20 countries. With our new-generation banking platform designed for the MENA region, known as EthixNG, we have made significant contributions to Turkey’s software exports. This project brought in approximately $25 million in foreign exchange for our country. Additionally, our XTM product is present in Kuwait and other Gulf countries. Moreover, our BOA Core Banking and Technology Platform is actively operating through our bank in Germany. We are embarking on a new digital transformation journey with KT Bank AG in Germany, where we aim to develop different digital products and provide solutions to other banks in the European market. I should also mention that we are conducting sales activities in the MENA, Europe, and Turkic Republics with our Airapi open banking and PowerFactor security solutions.

What is your strategy for expanding your export market?

Our strategy to expand the export market focuses on offering Architecht’s financial technology products to more organizations in the international arena and entering new markets. Specifically, we aim to gain a competitive advantage by offering secure and regulation-compliant solutions to global financial institutions with our core banking systems, cybersecurity products, and open banking platform. At the same time, we continue to enhance, update, and develop our products to increase the satisfaction and loyalty of our existing customers. With this strategy, we aim to grow in the international market and establish a strong global presence.

How has the pandemic changed the fintech world and the regulatory structure? What further steps do you think are necessary, especially in terms of regulation?

The pandemic has radically transformed the fintech world and the financial regulatory structure. The pandemic accelerated the demand for digital financial services. At the same time, it increased the use of digital payments, remote banking, and online investment platforms. This supported the growth of fintech companies and accelerated the digital transformation of traditional financial institutions. In terms of regulation, stricter regulations were implemented in various countries during the pandemic to protect financial data and enhance cybersecurity. There was a greater need for more regulations and oversight, particularly concerning the security of customer data and defense measures against cyber threats.

In the future, I believe that regulations should increase to provide more security and protection in the fintech sector. The obligations of fintech companies regarding the protection of customer data should be heightened, and cybersecurity standards should be more strictly enforced. International cooperation and the establishment of standards are crucial for preventing financial crimes and combating cyber threats more effectively. These standards play an essential role in enhancing the security of fintech companies, financial institutions, and their customers, as well as maintaining the stability of the sector.

At Architecht, we view banks as cybersecurity laboratories and treat security as an integral part of software. Compliance with regulations is one of the most critical criteria when developing the products needed by the financial sector. Our Core Banking solutions meet all the standards here. In addition, we are developing products in the field of mobile application and transaction security that comply with the latest regulations from the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK). We believe that our PowerFactor product, with this feature, will attract more attention in our sector in the coming period.

How do you evaluate 2023? Can you share your strategy and priorities for 2024?

2023 has been a period of great success for Architecht. Our team, which started the year with 600 people, increased to 720 by the end of the last quarter. We aim to close 2023 with a 400% financial growth compared to the previous year. We opened our third office at Teknopark Istanbul. We launched our end-to-end payment systems product, BOA Card. We became the core banking technology provider for the licensed digital banks established in our country. As a result, 10 out of the 61 banks in our country now operate using the core banking solution we developed. During this period, we also created opportunities for collaboration with investment banks. Last month, we became the end-to-end solution partner for a newly established investment bank. We completed the work on our PowerFactor mobile application and transaction security product to make it fully compliant with regulations as per the BDDK directive. We aim to obtain a significant license in this area soon. Especially in 2024, we aim to become the market leader with our PowerFactor product. Meanwhile, we are continuing to modernize our core banking system with the most up-to-date and reliable technologies. In 2024, we will accelerate these modernization efforts and transform our systems into a more flexible and modern structure. In addition to continuously updating our technologies, the modernization of our products will remain among our key priorities. Finally, I can say that with the strong team and experience of Kuveyt Türk, we will also support our customers as a Financial Cloud in the new period. We will share more details about this topic with our sector in the coming days.