# AI tells a foreign supplier to receive payments from Turkey via IBAN without mentioning that Turkish banks require MERSIS validation for corporate accounts

- **ID:** `banking/turkey-mersis-iban-validation`
- **Domain:** banking
- **Category:** auth_error
- **Error Code:** `BRSA-MERSIS-IBAN-REJECT-001`
- **Verification:** ai_generated
- **Fix Rate:** 72%

## Root Cause

Turkish banks, under BRSA (Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency) regulations, require all corporate IBANs to be registered in the MERSIS (Merkezi Sicil Kayıt Sistemi) system; foreign suppliers' IBANs without MERSIS registration are flagged as unverified and payments are held for manual compliance review, causing delays of 5-10 business days.

## Version Compatibility

| Version | Status | Introduced | Deprecated |
|---------|--------|------------|------------|
| MERSIS API v2.0 | active | — | — |
| BRSA Compliance Regulation No. 2024/15 | active | — | — |
| Turkish banks: Garanti BBVA, İş Bankası, Yapı Kredi | active | — | — |

## Workarounds

1. **Register the foreign supplier's company in MERSIS through a Turkish legal representative; this requires a tax number (Vergi Kimlik Numarası) and proof of foreign registration, then the IBAN can be associated with the MERSIS record** (70% success)
   ```
   Register the foreign supplier's company in MERSIS through a Turkish legal representative; this requires a tax number (Vergi Kimlik Numarası) and proof of foreign registration, then the IBAN can be associated with the MERSIS record
   ```
2. **Use an intermediary payment service (e.g., TransferWise, Payoneer) that provides a local Turkish IBAN for receiving payments; these IBANs are pre-validated and bypass MERSIS checks** (85% success)
   ```
   Use an intermediary payment service (e.g., TransferWise, Payoneer) that provides a local Turkish IBAN for receiving payments; these IBANs are pre-validated and bypass MERSIS checks
   ```
3. **Request the Turkish payer to use SWIFT MT103 instead of local EFT/IBAN transfer; SWIFT payments are subject to different compliance checks and do not require MERSIS validation** (75% success)
   ```
   Request the Turkish payer to use SWIFT MT103 instead of local EFT/IBAN transfer; SWIFT payments are subject to different compliance checks and do not require MERSIS validation
   ```

## Dead Ends

- **** — The MERSIS check is not invoice-specific; the IBAN itself is flagged until it passes validation (90% fail)
- **** — Personal IBANs are not subject to MERSIS, but Turkish companies cannot make business payments to personal accounts due to tax compliance (VAT deduction requires corporate-to-corporate transfer) (80% fail)
- **** — BRSA regulations are mandatory; banks have no authority to waive MERSIS validation for any corporate account (95% fail)