Fast, Free Istanbul Card Top-Ups via BBVA app
More than eight million Garanti BBVA digital banking customers will benefit from this feature. In addition to refilling the card, customers can check its remaining balance. To take advantage of this feature, customers simply need to register their card with the app. They can then add to the balance directly from their Garanti BBVA account, free of charge. Customers can also refill Istanbul travel card for friends and family.
Working under the direction of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Garanti BBVA and Belbim A.Ş. are contributing to the digitization of transportation payments as they seek to reach more users through alternative payment methods.
Commenting on the new feature, Didem Dinçer Başer, Garanti BBVA Executive Vice President for customer solutions and digital banking said, “Customers are increasingly using digital channels to manage their products and services. This trend is growing every day. The Garanti BBVA mobile app provides the proof: customers can now use the app as a terminal to add to their Istanbul travel card. We intend to continue adding value through ease of use by further integrating our banking services into the systems our customers use on a daily basis.
With this collaboration with Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and Belbim, Garanti BBVA aims to lead the sector by bringing innovative transportation payment solutions to a wider audience, said Ebru Dildar Edin, Garanti BBVA Executive Vice President for Corporate and Investment Banking. “We will continue to provide our customers with innovative payment solutions.”
How do I refill my Istanbul travel card with the Garanti BBVA Mobile app?
Customers with Android mobile devices with Near Field Communication capability can simply specify the amount to be added to the card, then touch the bottom of their device to the card.
If a customer’s device does not have NFC functionality, they can add to the card by creating a payment instruction using the Istanbul travel card number, then touching their card to an Istanbul travel card payment point or online payment instruction point.
A subsidiary of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Belbim A.Ş. contributes to the city’s vision of smart urbanism, and aims to make life easier with innovative solutions such as the Istanbul travel card mobile app. Belbim A.Ş.’s innovative applications take the Istanbul card to the next level, transforming it into an electronic payment card which can also be used to make retail payments.
