Another First for Turkey from Turkcell: Use of Turkcell Wallet on Public Transportation

ISTANBUL, April 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --



Turkcell (NYSE:TKC, ISE: TCELL), Turkey's leading communication and technology company Turkcell has announced that it launched mobile payment in transportation for the first time in Turkey  through the integration of Turkcell Wallet and Urfakart.  

     (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120614/537932-b )

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130416/608089 )
The public transportation card 'Urfakart' was integrated into the Turkcell Wallet platform through the collaboration between Turkcell, Belsan and Asis and with the support of the Sanliurfa Municipality. The collaboration, which opens a whole new era in public transportation enables users to realize contactless payments over their mobile phones while travelling as well as giving them the option of carrying out transactions like topping up cash and checking balances without having to go to an actual payment point. With the new technology will ease customers' lives while contributing to Belsan's operational efficiency.

At the press conference held at Turkey's Sanliurfa province, Turkcell General Manager Sureyya Ciliv commented, "We, as Turkcell, are leading the way in terms of mobile communication technologies that are not only reshaping the world but also changing the way of doing business in sectors such as transportation, finance, education and health. Turkcell Wallet, which we introduced in October of 2012 as the world's most advanced mobile wallet solution, is currently on the mobile phones of 1.2 million people. The Turkcell Wallet public transportation system is a first in Turkey and we hope that the 207 public transportation vehicles in Sanliurfa will set an example for other provinces to follow in the near future."

Ciliv continued to emphasize the investments of Turkcell in Sanliurfa by saying, "We see the employment opportunities that we have provided to the Anatolian region of within the framework of our social responsibility projects. With the 'Alo 170' Labor and Social Security Call Center that we have opened up in Sanliurfa, employs 200 people 60 percent of whom are women. Also, the number of Turkcell Communication Centers has reached 26 employing over 100 people.  The same motivation is the driving force behind these investments, whether it is our Urfakart collaboration or in these cases a contribution to the country's human resources."

In order for Turkcell customers to make use of Urfakart, they should link it to their mobile phones  Smart phone owners can add Urfakart by downloading the Turkcell Wallet application over the App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android).  After adding Urfakart to Turkcell Wallet, Turkcell customers can use their debit or credit cards on their Turkcell Wallet to top up cash to their Urfakart. Those who choose not to use bank or credit cards can top up their Urfakart by using Turkcell Mobile Payment. These payments are reflected to their bills or deducted from their balance. Those with NFC featured phones can make contactless payments while travelling. Customers can also check their balances over their mobile phones using the Turkcell Wallet.

ABOUT TURKCELL

Turkcell is the leading communications and technology company in Turkey, with 35.1 million subscribers as of December 31, 2012. Turkcell is a leading regional player, with market leadership in five of the nine countries in which it operates with its approximately 69.2 million subscribers as of December 31, 2012. It has become one of the first among the global operators to have implemented HSPA+. It has achieved up to 43.2 Mbps speed using the Dual Carrier technology, and is continuously working to provide the latest technology to its customers, e.g. 84 Mbps in the near future. Turkcell Superonline, a wholly owned subsidiary of Turkcell, is the one and only telecom operator to offer households fiber broadband connection at speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps in Turkey. As of December 31, 2012, Turkcell population coverage is at 99.17% in 2G and 84.02% in 3G.  Turkcell reported a TRY10.5 billion (US$5.9 billion) revenue with total assets of TRY18.7 billion (US$10.5 billion) as of December 31, 2012. It has been listed on the NYSE and the ISE since July 2000, and is the only NYSE-listed company in Turkey. Read more athttp://www.turkcell.com.tr

For further information please contact Turkcell
Nihat Narin                       
Division Head of Investor and International        
Media Relations                    
Tel: +90-212-313-1244                          
Email: [email protected]            

Banu Uzgur
International Media Relations Manager    
Tel: +90-212-313-1506        
Email: [email protected]
[email protected]

You can now follow the most up-to-date Turkcell developments on twitter by clicking on the link below.

http://twitter.com/TurkcellNews

SOURCE Turkcell