Vepara

What did it do?

Vepara was a Turkish electronic money and payment institution that aimed to bring virtual POS, money transfer, digital wallet and prepaid card services together on a single platform. It received a licence from the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey in August 2022 and began operating in 2023. Its target customers were businesses taking card payments online, influencers selling through social media and companies looking for payment infrastructure.

Why did it shut down?

In 2025 investigations into illegal betting and the laundering of criminal proceeds intensified in the payments sector. On 28 October 2025 the Central Bank temporarily suspended Vepara's permits for certain payment services and for issuing electronic money. In December 2025, in an investigation into the company over alleged laundering of criminal proceeds, detention orders were issued for 31 people across six provinces. In February 2026 Vepara's operating licence was revoked by a decision published in the Official Gazette. The sources contain no final ruling on the allegations in the investigation.

The story

Vepara was an electronic money and payment institution that aimed to bring virtual POS, money transfer, digital wallet and prepaid card services together on a single platform. According to a September 2022 report by Webrazzi, the Turkish tech news site, the company's founder and partner was Nedim Vural. The same report said that Hedef Holding had bought 35 per cent of the company for 18.5 million lira, and its subsidiary Hedef Girişim 25 per cent for 12 million lira. The target customers were websites taking card payments, influencers selling through social media and companies looking for payment infrastructure.

According to egirişim, Vepara received a licence from the Central Bank in August 2022 and began operating in 2023. CEO Volkan Üstün said that merchants could benefit from competitive commission rates regardless of their transaction volume, and that payments would reach their accounts the next day. Over the following two years the company announced a taxi project using Android POS, a digital wallet and various card-focused partnerships.

In 2025 investigations into illegal betting and the laundering of criminal proceeds intensified in the payments sector. On 28 October 2025 the Central Bank temporarily suspended Vepara's permits for certain payment services and for issuing electronic money; according to Fintech Dünyası, this decision brought the number of electronic money institutions with suspended permits to nine. On 26 December 2025 Diken reported that, in an investigation into Vepara over alleged laundering of criminal proceeds, detention orders had been issued for 31 people across six provinces. In February 2026 Vepara's operating licence was revoked, along with those of three other payment institutions, by a decision published in the Official Gazette. The sources contain no final ruling on the allegations in the investigation.

Vepara's story is that of a payment start-up which obtained a licence and tried to diversify its products quickly, only to lose that licence in the middle of a sector-wide wave of regulatory scrutiny. In payment services, which customers you serve and how you monitor the flow of money prove just as decisive as product speed and commission advantages.

Lessons for founders

• In payments, fast growth has to keep pace with your capacity to know your customers and monitor the flow of money.
• A licence is not a document you obtain once; it is a trust you have to earn again every day.
• When a wave of regulatory scrutiny begins in your sector, the investment you have made in your compliance team is your company's survival insurance.

Sources

1. Vepara receives investment from Hedef Holding and Hedef Girişim (Webrazzi, 2022-09-26)
2. Electronic money company Vepara announces its virtual POS solution (egirişim, 2023-03-07)
3. Pavo and Vepara launch a taxi project using a next-generation Android POS product and innovative applications (egirişim, 2024-05-23)
4. TCMB temporarily suspends some activities of Sipay, Vepara and Fzypay (Fintech Dünyası, 2025-10-28)
5. Operation against Vepara: detention orders for 31 people (Diken, 2025-12-26)
6. Operating licences of four payment institutions revoked (Diken, 2026-02-01)

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