Turkey – Israel Fintech co-operation

The wider impact of Fintech Cooperation Between Israel and Turkey on the Region and the World

Collaboration between Israel and Turkey in the fintech sector has the potential to create significant economic and technological advancements, not only for these two nations or the Middle East, but globally.

Some would quickly draw attention to the past decade, and the political misalignment between the two countries in this period, but that would be a very short sighted assessment of the situation, and a complete neglect of the deep historical ties between the Jewish people and the Turkish nation, from Ottoman time to the present Republic of Turkey. The security and humanitarian challenges in Gaza, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Libya and Syria, just to mention a few, should not be underestimated, but at the same time not distract us all from seeing that a cooperation between Turkey and Israel is the only permanent solution for long term peace and prosperity for all peoples of the region, regardless of faith or political affiliation.

Israel and Turkey sit at the junction of Asia, and Europe, and with key strategic importance for the US, EU and NATO. If they worked together, the synergy would result in significant economic gains for both nations, and bring stability, security and prosperity for the wider region.

A Natural Fit for Fintech Collaboration
Israel’s fintech sector is renowned around the world for its state of the art technology, especially in the sectors of cybersecurity, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and digital payments. The Start-Up nation houses a highly advanced tech ecosystem that excels at access to funding, innovation and solving the most difficult problems.

The Turkish fintech sector might be unknown to many, but undoubtedly among the most advanced and competitive in the world. With a young and tech savvy population of close to 90 million and tourism sector hosting more than 55 million in 2024, Turkey is a market like no other in the region. If you in addition consider the country’s growing trade partners across Africa, CIS region and Asia, the potential becomes unique for both Israeli and Turkish entrepreneurs.

Turkey is undergoing a fast paced transformation across many industries, and the financial sector is not immune from this. Things such as digital banking, the blockchain and mobile payments are being inundated with interest. All this encouraged and pushed forward by a friendly regulatory environment and encouraging government policies.

Because of this, it’s looking for secure scalable solutions, and this is where Israel’s offering can be the perfect match, especially when it comes to things like Blockchain, AI, data analytics, fraud prevention, and digital identity verification. Further, Turkish Fintechs also wants to grow beyond Turkey, and partnering with Israelis to access capital from Israeli and US capital markets would be a win-win recipe.

Strengthening Economic Ties
Collaboration within the fintech space is just the start. Such steps can lead to collaborating in other spaces from education and science to agriculture and tourism. And defence. Yes, you read it right; military cooperation. Long term stability in the region and beyond would undoubtedly require these two democratic nations to move away from a short-term populistic tactical approach to long-term warm hearted and cold minded strategic approach.  Thanks to cooperation, there will be foreign investment in each, by the other and beyond, and they can learn from each other. Everyone will gain and benefit which is the goal of partnering.

This could then act as the example for other countries in the region to emulate. What country wouldn’t want to have a more robust and modern financial system, and at the same time unlock greater access to human and financial capital?

Mending Overall Ties
The challenges facing the Turkish and Israeli relationship isn’t unique to these two nations. Both countries have been following a harsh, but often a pragmatic policy towards each other and towards other countries in the region. However, the successful collaboration between Turkey-Israel-Azerbaijan when it comes to energy and defence is a great example of what is achievable, even in the darkest hours of the Turkish – Israeli relationship.

The power vacuum created by the Arab Spring, and the latest Gaza conflict have not only pushed Israel and Turkey to adopt a hostile, but pragmatic stand against each other, but also pushed the other countries in the region to adopt a similar approach. It is now time for Turkish and Israeli business and political decision makers to reverse this vicious cycle, and pave the way for healthy and prosperous relationships across borders and beliefs. The latest events in Syria should be seen as a golden opportunity for both nations to find common ground, and also involve the wider region to take part in rebuilding Syria with the positive impact it would have on the region.

The only thing stopping this are extremists and those who profiteer off conflict. Are these really the forces who should be rewarded?