Focus

Turkey | Ancient and modern

The Review (Gemalto): November 2010
Written by Cath Everett

Turkey may be one of the cradles of civilization, but it’s also a hotbed of digital innovation – especially in the area of payment technology

The Anatolian peninsula is one of the oldest continuously inhabited regions in the world. Turkey was home to some of the most important medieval cities, including Ephesus, Smyrna (modern-day Izmir) and Byzantium (Istanbul), and the Ottoman Empire was a major power for centuries.

If that all sounds familiar from your history lessons at school, this may be less so. Turkey has the second fastest-growing economy of the G20 countries, bettered only by China – its gross domestic product increased by 11.7% year on year during the first quarter of 2010.

What’s more, this ancient nation has enthusiastically embraced new technology. The combination of a youthful population and a highly competitive banking sector has made Turkey one of the most innovative players in the global payment card market, for example. Out of a total population of 72 million (with an average age of 28), the number of credit card users has more than tripled, to 45.1 million, over the past 10 years; the number of debit card users has more than doubled, to 67.2 million, in the same period. Turkey has the third highest level of credit card adoption in Europe, while the amount that citizens spend on such cards as a percentage of their total expenditure is 21.8% – a figure beaten globally only by South Korea.