ininal

What did it do?

ininal was founded in Turkey in 2012 to offer a prepaid shopping card to people who had no credit card or were wary of using one online. Bought from PTT (the Turkish postal service) and retail outlets and topped up with credit, the card gradually gained money transfer and digital wallet features too. In 2017 the company obtained an electronic money institution licence.

Why did it shut down?

ininal's end came not from the product itself but from an investigation targeting the ownership structure that took shape in later years. In an investigation into illegal betting and laundering the proceeds of crime launched in February 2025, 21 people were arrested, reportedly including figures from the payments sector. In March 2025 the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey suspended the operating permits of PayFix, Aypara and ininal, and management of the companies was handed to TMSF, Turkey's Savings Deposit Insurance Fund. By a decision published in the Official Gazette on 8 November 2025, the three firms' operating permits were revoked. No final ruling on the allegations in the investigation was found in the sources.

The story

ininal was unveiled in December 2012 at the Payment Systems conference run by Webrazzi, the Turkish tech news site. The idea behind the start-up founded by Bülent Tekmen and Çelik Ören was to offer a prepaid shopping card to people who had no credit card or were wary of using one online. Issued in partnership with MasterCard, Provus and ING Bank, the card could be bought from PTT, the Turkish postal service, and used once topped up; at launch the card cost 5 TL and the monthly usage fee was 1 TL. The team aimed to reach 1 million cards by 2014.

The start-up quickly caught the attention of the ecosystem. In June 2013 it raised investment from Aslanoba Capital, and that same year its founders were selected for the Endeavor entrepreneur network. In July 2016 Multinet acquired a stake of around 50.1 per cent in ininal through a share swap; Webrazzi reported the deal as one of the notable acquisitions in the fintech space. In March 2017 the company obtained its electronic money institution licence. According to a March 2020 report by egirişim, the ininal Card had reached 4 million users.

At the end of February 2025, an investigation into illegal betting and laundering the proceeds of crime launched in Istanbul reached a group of companies that included ininal. As part of the investigation, 21 people were arrested, reportedly including figures from the payments sector. According to Diken, investigators alleged that payment institutions had been used in the flow of money for foreign betting sites. In March 2025 the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey suspended the operating permits of PayFix, Aypara and ininal, and management of the companies was handed to TMSF, Turkey's Savings Deposit Insurance Fund. By a decision published in the Official Gazette on 8 November 2025, the three firms' operating permits were revoked entirely. No final ruling on the allegations in the investigation was found in the sources.

ininal's story is that of a fintech start-up that set out to bring cards to the unbanked and reached millions of users, only to end by losing its licence amid an ownership structure that changed in later years and an investigation targeting that structure. It remains an example of how decisive the licence and the ownership structure are in payment services.

Lessons for founders

• In the payments business the licence is the company; every change in the ownership structure puts the licence at risk too.
• When handing over your start-up, who the new shareholders are shapes the product's future as much as the product itself.
• Serving the unbanked is a big opportunity, but it also demands rigorous compliance and oversight.

Sources

1. Prepaid shopping card İninal announced at Ödeme Sistemleri 12 (Payment Systems 12) (Webrazzi, 2012-12-12)
2. Founders of Dugun.com and ininal selected for the Endeavor entrepreneur network (Webrazzi, 2013-12-17)
3. Multinet buys a majority stake in ininal! (Webrazzi, 2016-07-12)
4. Contactless and chip features added to ininal Card, which has 4 million users (egirişim, 2020-03-10)
5. Operating permits of Payfix, Aypara and İninal suspended (Diken, 2025-03-18)
6. Central Bank announcement on the operating permits of Aypara, İninal and PayFix (Webrazzi, 2025-03-18)
7. Licences of İninal, PayFix and Aypara revoked (Medyascope, 2025-11-08)
8. Licences of Pay Fix, İninal and Aypara revoked (Diken, 2025-11-08)

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