# VakıfBank / VakıfBank Mobile

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/vakifbank
> research date 2026-05-30 · extracted at 2026-10-07
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [VakıfBank — official](https://www.vakifbank.com.tr/)

## Overview

**VakıfBank (Türkiye Vakıflar Bankası)** is **Turkish Treasury-controlled bank** + **post-Dec 11 2019 Turkish Treasury foundation shareholders acquisition + May 20 2020 + Mar 21 2022 Turkey Wealth Fund newly issued shares acquisition** <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [Türkiye report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/TR)</sup>. **2025 baseline**: VakıfBank "Always There For You" Turkish banking positioning; **VakıfBank Mobile + VakıfBank Commercial Mobile distinctive Turkish banking apps**; Becoming a Remote Customer with VakıfBank Mobile distinctive Turkish onboarding innovation.

**Distinctive VakıfBank positioning**:
- **Turkish Treasury-controlled bank** (post-Dec 11 2019 Turkish Treasury foundation shareholders acquisition + May 20 2020 + Mar 21 2022 Turkey Wealth Fund newly issued shares acquisition)
- **VakıfBank Mobile + VakıfBank Commercial Mobile distinctive Turkish banking apps**
- **Becoming a Remote Customer with VakıfBank Mobile distinctive Turkish onboarding innovation**
- **"Always There For You" Turkish banking positioning**
- **Jan 11 1954 VakıfBank founding** by Turkish state via Vakıf (Islamic charitable foundations) ownership → distinctive Turkish Vakıf foundation banking heritage
- **Dec 11 2019 Turkish Treasury acquired shares from GDF-managed foundations** + **May 20 2020 + Mar 21 2022 Turkey Wealth Fund newly issued shares acquisition** → distinctive Turkish state ownership consolidation

## History

**Jan 11 1954 — Türkiye Vakıflar Bankası founded** by Turkish state via Vakıf (Islamic charitable foundations) ownership → distinctive Turkish Vakıf foundation banking heritage.

**Nov 18 2005 — VakıfBank IPO on BIST (Borsa Istanbul)**.

**2011 — VakıfBank Mobile mobile banking app launches**.

**Dec 11 2019 — Turkish Treasury acquired shares from various foundations managed by the GDF** → distinctive Turkish state ownership consolidation.

**May 20 2020 — Turkey Wealth Fund acquired newly issued VakıfBank shares** → indirect Turkish Treasury controlling.

**Mar 21 2022 — Turkey Wealth Fund acquired newly issued VakıfBank shares** → further Turkish Treasury-controlled consolidation.

**2025 — VakıfBank Mobile + VakıfBank Commercial Mobile distinctive Turkish banking apps + "Always There For You" Turkish banking positioning** <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [3][3]</sup>.

## Ownership & operator

**Operating entity**: **Türkiye Vakıflar Bankası T.A.O. (BIST: VAKBN)**.

**Major shareholders**: **Turkish Treasury (Hazine ve Maliye Bakanlığı; post-Dec 11 2019 acquisition from GDF-managed foundations) + Turkey Wealth Fund (Türkiye Varlık Fonu Turkish state sovereign wealth fund; post-May 20 2020 + Mar 21 2022 newly issued shares acquisitions; indirect Turkish Treasury controlling) + Turkish institutional + Turkish retail public float**.

**Regulators**: **BDDK + CBRT**.

## Technical integration

**VakıfBank Mobile mobile banking app** (iOS + Android) + **VakıfBank Commercial Mobile** business banking app + vakifbank.com.tr online + VakıfBank cards (Visa + Mastercard) + VakıfBank Turkish branch network; FAST + BKM Turkish national payment system; **Becoming a Remote Customer with VakıfBank Mobile distinctive Turkish onboarding innovation**; VakıfBank retail + private + corporate + SME + investment banking.

## Users & growth

**2025**: VakıfBank Mobile + VakıfBank Commercial Mobile distinctive Turkish banking apps; Turkish Treasury-controlled bank.

## Use cases

Turkish retail + private + corporate + SME + investment banking via VakıfBank Mobile + VakıfBank Commercial Mobile + vakifbank.com.tr online + cards + branches; FAST + BKM Turkish national payment system; **Becoming a Remote Customer with VakıfBank Mobile distinctive Turkish onboarding innovation**.

## Implementations & partners

**Operator**: Türkiye Vakıflar Bankası T.A.O. (BIST: VAKBN); Turkish Treasury + Turkey Wealth Fund (Türkiye Varlık Fonu Turkish state sovereign wealth fund).

**Major Turkish banking competitors**: [Ziraat Bankası (Turkey)](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/ziraat-bankasi) (Türkiye's largest bank by assets state-controlled) + [İşbank (İşCep)](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/isbank-tr) (Türkiye İş Bankası; largest Turkish private bank by assets) + [Garanti BBVA Turkey](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/garanti-bbva) (BBVA Turkish subsidiary 86%+; Turkey #3 by assets) + [Akbank](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/akbank) (Sabancı family; Turkey #4 by assets; Akbank Mobile) + [Yapı Kredi / Yapı Kredi Mobile (SuperApp)](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/yapi-kredi) (Koç Group; Turkey's 3rd-largest private bank; Yapı Kredi Mobile SuperApp) + [QNB Finansbank / QNB Mobil & Dijital Köprü](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/qnb-finansbank) (QNB Group Turkish subsidiary; Turkey's 8th largest bank with 4.31% Turkish market share 2025) + [Halkbank / Halka Mobile](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/halkbank) (Turkish state-controlled; Halka Mobile; 20M+ Turkish customers + 7.6M+ digital customers) + [DenizBank / MobilDeniz / fastPay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/denizbank) (Emirates NBD Turkish subsidiary post-Jul 2019 Sberbank divestiture).

**Regulators**: BDDK + CBRT.

## Fun facts

- **Turkish Treasury-controlled bank** (post-Dec 11 2019 Turkish Treasury foundation shareholders acquisition + May 20 2020 + Mar 21 2022 Turkey Wealth Fund newly issued shares acquisition).
- **VakıfBank Mobile + VakıfBank Commercial Mobile distinctive Turkish banking apps**.
- **Becoming a Remote Customer with VakıfBank Mobile distinctive Turkish onboarding innovation**.
- **"Always There For You" Turkish banking positioning**.
- **Jan 11 1954 VakıfBank founding** by Turkish state via Vakıf (Islamic charitable foundations) ownership → distinctive Turkish Vakıf foundation banking heritage.
- **Dec 11 2019 Turkish Treasury acquired shares from GDF-managed foundations** + **May 20 2020 + Mar 21 2022 Turkey Wealth Fund newly issued shares acquisition** → distinctive Turkish state ownership consolidation.

## Comparison

| Feature | VakıfBank / VakıfBank Mobile | [Halkbank / Halka Mobile](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/halkbank) (Turkish state-controlled rival; Halka Mobile; 20M+ Turkish customers + 7.6M+ digital customers) | [Ziraat Bankası (Turkey)](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/ziraat-bankasi) (Türkiye's largest bank by assets state-controlled rival) | [İşbank (İşCep)](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/isbank-tr) (Türkiye İş Bankası rival; largest Turkish private bank by assets) | [DenizBank / MobilDeniz / fastPay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/denizbank) (Emirates NBD Turkish subsidiary post-Jul 2019 Sberbank divestiture rival) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | **Türkiye Vakıflar Bankası T.A.O. (BIST: VAKBN; Turkish Treasury-controlled)** | Türkiye Halk Bankası A.Ş. (BIST: HALKB; Turkey Wealth Fund ~75% controlling) | T.C. Ziraat Bankası A.Ş. (Turkish Republic Agricultural Bank; Turkish state) | Türkiye İş Bankası A.Ş. (BIST: ISCTR) | DenizBank A.Ş. (Emirates NBD subsidiary) |
| Type | **Turkish Treasury-controlled bank + post-Dec 11 2019 Turkish Treasury foundation shareholders acquisition + May 20 2020 + Mar 21 2022 Turkey Wealth Fund newly issued shares acquisition + VakıfBank Mobile + VakıfBank Commercial Mobile + Becoming a Remote Customer with VakıfBank Mobile + "Always There For You" + Turkish Vakıf foundation banking heritage** | Turkish state-controlled bank + one of Türkiye's largest banks + 20M+ Turkish customers + 7.6M+ digital customers + Halka Mobile | Türkiye's largest bank by assets state-controlled + Bankamatik | Türkiye İş Bankası + largest Turkish private bank by assets + 1924 Atatürk founding | Emirates NBD Turkish subsidiary post-Jul 31 2019 Sberbank Emirates NBD DenizBank acquisition completion $2.78B + MobilDeniz + fastPay |
| Country | TR | TR | TR + 16+ countries | TR + 20+ countries | TR |
| Distinctive | **Jan 11 1954 Türkiye Vakıflar Bankası founding by Turkish state via Vakıf (Islamic charitable foundations) ownership; Nov 18 2005 BIST IPO; 2011 VakıfBank Mobile launch; Dec 11 2019 Turkish Treasury foundation shareholders acquisition; May 20 2020 + Mar 21 2022 Turkey Wealth Fund newly issued shares acquisition** | Jun 8 1933 Halkbank founding by Turkish state (Turkish state SME + tradesmen banking heritage); 2019 Halkbank Iran sanctions controversy | Aug 24 1863 Ziraat founding by Mithat Paşa (Turkey's oldest bank) | 1924 Türkiye İş Bankası founding by Atatürk | 1938 Denizbank original founding; 1997 Zorlu → 2006 Dexia → 2012 Sberbank → 2019 Emirates NBD acquisitions |

## Status

**Active, Turkish Treasury-controlled bank + post-Dec 11 2019 Turkish Treasury foundation shareholders acquisition** <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [3][3]</sup>:
- **Türkiye Vakıflar Bankası T.A.O. (BIST: VAKBN; Turkish Treasury-controlled)** since Jan 11 1954 VakıfBank founding by Turkish state via Vakıf (Islamic charitable foundations) ownership + Nov 18 2005 BIST IPO + Dec 11 2019 Turkish Treasury foundation shareholders acquisition + May 20 2020 + Mar 21 2022 Turkey Wealth Fund newly issued shares acquisitions.
- **VakıfBank Mobile + VakıfBank Commercial Mobile distinctive Turkish banking apps + Becoming a Remote Customer with VakıfBank Mobile distinctive Turkish onboarding innovation**.
- **BDDK + CBRT regulated**.

## Sources

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vak%C4%B1fBank "VakıfBank — Wikipedia"
[2]: https://www.vakifbank.com.tr/en "VakıfBank, Always There For You — VakıfBank"
[3]: https://www.vakifbank.com.tr/en/digital-banking/vakifbank-mobile/vakifbank-mobile-frequently-asked-questions "Mobile Banking Frequently Asked Questions — VakıfBank"
[tr-cro]: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/TR

- [1] [VakıfBank — Wikipedia][1]
- [2] [VakıfBank, Always There For You — VakıfBank][2]
- [3] [Mobile Banking Frequently Asked Questions — VakıfBank][3]
- <sup>[Türkiye report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/TR)</sup> In-corpus: `reports/countries/TR-turkey.md`

## Source

Biography extracted from [vakifbank.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/source/wallets/vakifbank). See `matrix.md` for standards-support matrix if present.