"Investigation Results of Türkiye Garanti Bankası AŞ's Bonus Contracts"

According to the framework of the Bonus Credit Card Program Sharing of Türkiye Garanti Bankası (IS:GARAN), the Competition Authority has concluded its examination conducted under Article 13 of the Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition regarding whether it is necessary to revoke the individual exemption recognized by various decisions of the Competition Authority for the Bonus Credit Card Program Sharing Agreements (Bonus Agreements) signed separately with Alternative Bank AŞ, Denizbank AŞ, ICBC Turkey (IS:ICBCT) Bank AŞ, ING Bank AŞ, Şekerbank (IS:SKBNK) Türk AŞ, Türk Ekonomi Bankası AŞ, and Türkiye Finans Katılım Bankası AŞ as the program operator.

The Competition Authority (the Authority) ruled that the provisions currently existing in the Bonus Agreements, which prevent member merchants from offering POS services simultaneously from multiple Bonus member banks or payment institutions, restrict banks participating in the Bonus program from joining another co-branded card program, and require Bonus branded credit cards to be used only at Bonus branded POS, can benefit from individual exemption under Article 5 of Law No. 4054.

However, the Authority determined that some provisions included in the Bonus Agreements excessively restrict competition beyond what is necessary under the subparagraph (d) of the first paragraph of Article 5 of Law No. 4054, ruling that the current form of the Bonus Agreements cannot benefit from individual exemption as a whole. Within this scope;

It was concluded that the provision preventing a member merchant participating in the Bonus Program network from negotiating with other banks and payment institutions for one month following the termination of their membership agreement for any reason, which results in the inability to perform installment transactions with Bonus branded credit cards during that one-month waiting period, is unreasonable and should be removed from the agreements. Furthermore, the limitation preventing a member merchant with an existing contract with a Bonus member bank or payment institution from negotiating with another Bonus member bank or payment institution while the contractual relationship is in place should be narrowed to exclude negotiations aimed at changing their service provider.

The proposed 6-month card replacement period for changing the Bonus-branded cards issued by member banks when they exit the program is deemed insufficient, and it should be revised to at least 9 months, during which the relevant cards shall be kept closed to installment transactions and reward point accumulation.

It was also decided that the restrictions on member banks of the Bonus Program from conducting campaigns that attract each other's customers should be limited to campaigns directly targeting the campaigns of other member banks of the Bonus Program. Furthermore, the contractual provisions preventing payment institutions from making statements indicating that the Bonus Program provides fewer rewards than other card/loyalty programs or is more expensive need to be removed.

In the mentioned decision, it was ruled that the Bonus Agreements can only receive exemption under Article 5 of Law No. 4054 if the aforementioned conditions are met. In this context, it was decided that the Bonus Agreements, which were determined not to benefit from individual exemption in their current state, should be amended and notified to the Competition Authority within 9 months from the notification of the reasoned decision of the Authority, or the relevant agreements and cooperation within the Bonus Program should be terminated within the same period; otherwise, proceedings will be initiated against the parties to the agreements in accordance with Law No. 4054, as decreed on 12.12.2024 with decision number 24-53/1172-505.