Katılımevim Review (2026): Turkey's Listed Savings Finance Company and Its Bank

Katılımevim is a tasarruf finansman (savings finance) company founded on 27 September 2018 in Ümraniye, Istanbul, licensed by the BDDK on 7 June 2022 under Law No. 6361, and listed on Borsa İstanbul as KTLEV since 2023, the only listed company in its sector. It helps members buy a home, workplace or vehicle by pooling instalments and allocating finance either by monthly notarised draw or on a fixed date, charging a one-off organisation fee as its only revenue. In 2024 it bought Birevim and applied for a participation bank licence; its timeline says İktisat Katılım Bankası was established in 2025, though the BDDK's participation bank list did not yet include it on 20 September 2026. This review covers the plans, the fee, the refund rule and whether to join now.

What Katılımevim is and how it is regulated

Until 2021 savings finance companies operated outside banking law. Law No. 7292, published in the Official Gazette on 7 March 2021, brought them under Law No. 6361 on Financial Leasing, Factoring, Financing and Savings Finance Companies and under BDDK supervision. Companies had to apply for intibak (compliance adjustment), meet capital, governance and reporting requirements, and then obtain an operating licence. Katılımevim's investor relations page says it was the first company to file an intibak application and one of six to receive approval in 2021, and that the BDDK Board's decision of 7 June 2022 granted its operating licence. The BDDK's list of licensed Tasarruf Finansman Şirketleri on 20 September 2026 held nine names: Adil, Albayrak, Birevim, Emin Evim, Emlak Katılım Tasarruf Finansman, Fuzul, İmece, Katılımevim and Sinpaş.

Being licensed means the BDDK can inspect the company, the savings pool must be kept in accounts separate from the company's own, and the member contract has to follow the regulated template. It does not mean deposit insurance. A participation account at a bank is covered by TMSF up to the legal limit; money in a savings finance pool is not. Our guide to TMSF cover on participation accounts explains what the fund protects, and the home financing hub sets out the alternatives. Treat the licence as supervision, not as a guarantee.

Who owns Katılımevim and who runs it

The shareholder table on the investor relations page on 20 September 2026 showed paid-in capital of 7,000,000,000 TL, held 28.85 percent by Pusula Finans Holding A.Ş. (2,019,683,774 TL), 9.33 percent by Ömer Burkay (653,333,331 TL) and 61.82 percent by other holders (4,326,982,895 TL), which is the free float plus smaller investors. The board is chaired by Serdar Turhan, a founding partner since 2018 with a construction background. Ömer Burkay, a certified public accountant with group companies in housing construction and logistics, is vice-chair. The general manager, Nuh Suat Karataş, spent 2006 to 2022 at Türkiye Finans Katılım Bankası as a field, branch and regional manager and 2022 to 2026 at Eminevim as deputy general manager for sales, so the operating leadership comes from both a participation bank and the main competitor. Two independent directors, Hayri Gökhan Alpman and Osman İlker Savuran, sit alongside them.

The company's own milestones page records 22 branches in 2019, 46 in 2020, intibak approval in 2021, the licence in 2022, the sector's first public offering in 2023, the acquisition of Birevim Tasarruf Finansman A.Ş. and Bainbridge Gayrimenkul Ticaret A.Ş. plus the bank licence application in 2024, and the establishment of İktisat Katılım Bankası in 2025. The home page carried a live delivery counter reading 148,223 plus deliveries on the day we checked. Those are company figures; the KAP filings behind the listing are where to verify them.

How the two plans work: Çekilişli and Kişiye Özel

Katılımevim sells two methods. In the Çekilişli Plan (draw plan) you choose the amount you need for the home or car and the monthly instalment you can afford, and you are placed in a group. The company's method page says home groups run from 18 to 200 members and car groups from 18 to 120, and that a draw held before a notary and streamed live each month decides which members receive their allocation early. Members whose names are not drawn receive the finance when their group's collective allocation date arrives. Instalments in the draw plan are the remaining balance divided by the number of people in the group.

In the Kişiye Özel Plan (individual plan) there is no draw. You set the instalment, and the allocation date follows from it, so you know in advance when the finance arrives. Both plans can be joined with or without a down payment, and the individual plan also allows interim lump sums; the company says a down payment earns an earlier delivery date in the individual plan. In both, the company states that you pay only the principal plus the participation (organisation) fee, with no vade farkı, no interest and no extra charges. When allocation arrives, the difference between what you have saved and what you need is paid out of the pool, you buy the property or car you have chosen yourself, and you repay the remainder in instalments over the rest of the term.

The organisation fee and what is not printed

The organisation fee (organizasyon ücreti) is the whole business model. Katılımevim's FAQ says the company earns no interest, that its sole revenue is the one-off organisation fee charged to participants, and that there are no surprise extras such as a file fee. It also says the fee's amount depends on the campaign you join and on the value of the home or car, which is a polite way of saying it is not printed. On 20 September 2026 we found no fee schedule in lira or percentage on the public pages. Before you sign, ask for the fee in lira, in writing, for your specific amount and term, and ask whether it is paid upfront or spread across instalments.

The security page adds the rule that matters most if you change your mind. Members may leave the system at any time before delivery, and all payments are refunded except the organisation fee, with no penalty. So the fee is the sunk cost of joining; the savings are returnable. The company also states that monthly payments are not held within the firm but used for members whose turn has come, and that the Diyanet's December 2025 ruling, discussed below, requires exactly that. What happens on default after delivery is governed by the regulated contract; the Diyanet's condition is that nothing beyond an inflation adjustment may be demanded for lateness, so read the late-payment clause before signing.

Is Katılımevim caiz? The Diyanet's four conditions

On 10 December 2025 the Diyanet's Din İşleri Yüksek Kurulu published a ruling on acquiring a home, workplace or vehicle through the savings finance system. It describes the system as mutual-assistance saving in a common pool, in draw (group) or no-draw (individual) form, with or without a down payment, where the company makes no sale itself and participants buy from whoever they choose, and the company charges an organisation fee for running the pool. It notes that the pool must be kept separate from the company's other accounts under the law, and that pool funds are invested interest-free with most of the return going to the pool's reserve fund.

• The company must charge participants no fee other than the organisation fee.
• Apart from the organisation fee, what a participant pays into the pool and what they receive at delivery must be equal, so no hidden margin on the finance itself.
• The company must finance participants from the pool's savings, not from its own capital, except that it may join a group as a participant to make up the minimum number when someone withdraws.
• If payments are late after delivery, nothing beyond an inflation difference may be demanded from the participant.

Subject to those four conditions, the Diyanet ruled the system permissible. Katılımevim's published model matches the first three on its face: a single fee, principal-only repayment, and pool-funded allocation. The fourth is a contract term you must read for yourself, since the company's public pages do not quote the late-payment clause. Katılımevim's site did not name a Shariah advisory committee on the pages we fetched; its investor documents include a Katılım Finans İlkeleri Bilgi Formu dated 31 December 2022, which is the place to look for the governance it claims. Our broader savings-finance explainer covers Eminevim, Fuzul and Elbirliği under the same ruling.

Katılımevim against Eminevim and Fuzul

The honest comparison is that all three are licensed under the same 2021 regime and all three run on the same organisation-fee logic, so the differences are disclosure, governance and delivery speed. Katılımevim's listing forces it into KAP reporting, independent audit and independent directors that a private company can avoid; that is an argument for it. The fee and the delivery date are quote-only everywhere, so compare written offers for the same amount and term rather than brands.

What the İktisat Katılım bank licence changes

Katılımevim's milestones page records a participation bank establishment permit application in 2024 and says İktisat Katılım Bankası was established in 2025. On 20 September 2026 the BDDK's bank list still showed ten participation banks, with Adil Katılım as the newest digital entrant and no İktisat Katılım, so the bank had not reached the operating-licence stage that lets it take deposits. Our profile of İktisat Katılım and the article on Turkey's next participation banks track that process.

For a member the difference is large. A participation bank can offer a murabaha home financing with a fixed profit margin and a 120-month term, a TMSF-insured participation account for the deposit, and a credit card, none of which a savings finance company may do. A bank also brings BDDK capital rules and the TKBB's central advisory framework. If the group ends up with both a savings finance arm and a bank, the natural product is a savings plan that converts into bank financing at allocation, but nothing like that was published on 20 September 2026. Until the bank is licensed and its products are printed, judge Katılımevim on what it sells today.

The decision: join a plan now or wait for the bank

Join now if you have a specific property or car in mind, you can carry the instalment for the full term, you have asked for the organisation fee in lira and found it lower than the total profit you would pay on a participation bank murabaha for the same amount, and you can accept an uncertain delivery date in the draw plan or a longer fixed date in the individual plan. The refund rule makes the downside the fee alone, which is a real but bounded loss. Compare the all-in cost against the printed rates in our best halal home financing ranking, and if the finance is for a vehicle, against the car financing hub.

Wait if you need the money on a date you cannot move, if you want deposit insurance on your savings while you wait, or if your main attraction is the coming bank. Put the down payment in a participation account or a Konut Hesabı with the state match instead, and revisit Katılımevim when İktisat Katılım appears on the BDDK list with a printed product. The question behind "Katılımevim güvenilir mi" has a factual answer: it is BDDK-licensed, listed and audited, and its model fits the Diyanet's ruling if the contract honours the four conditions. Whether it is the right product for you is a question of timing and price, and only a written quote answers that. Facts checked against katilimevim.com.tr, bddk.org.tr, kurul.diyanet.gov.tr on 20 September 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Is Katılımevim licensed by the BDDK?

Yes. Katılımevim says the BDDK Board granted its operating licence by decision of 7 June 2022 after it filed the sector's first intibak application under Law 7292 of March 2021, and Katılımevim Tasarruf Finansman A.Ş. appears on the BDDK's list of nine licensed savings finance companies as of 20 September 2026. The licence brings supervision and segregated pool accounts, not TMSF deposit insurance.

How does Katılımevim make money if it charges no interest?

Through a one-off organisation fee. The company's FAQ says this fee is its only revenue, that it varies with the campaign and the value of the home or car, and that there are no file fees or other extras. The fee is not refunded if you leave before delivery, while every other payment is. Ask for the fee in lira, in writing, before you sign.

Is Katılımevim caiz according to the Diyanet?

The Diyanet's 10 December 2025 ruling says acquiring a home, workplace or vehicle through the savings finance system is permissible if the company charges only an organisation fee, pays out from the pool exactly what members paid in, finances from pool savings rather than its own capital, and demands nothing beyond an inflation difference for late payment after delivery. Katılımevim's published model fits the first three; check the late-payment clause in your contract for the fourth.

Can I get my money back if I leave Katılımevim?

Yes, before delivery. Katılımevim's security page says members may exit at any time before receiving their allocation and that all payments are refunded with no penalty, except the organisation fee charged for the service. After delivery you have received the finance and owe the remaining instalments under the contract.

What is the difference between Katılımevim and İktisat Katılım?

Katılımevim is the BDDK-licensed savings finance company that pools instalments and allocates finance by draw or fixed date. İktisat Katılım Bankası is the participation bank its group applied to found in 2024 and says it established in 2025. On 20 September 2026 the BDDK's bank list did not yet include İktisat Katılım, so it was not taking deposits or offering bank financing.

Does Katılımevim require a down payment or a guarantor?

No down payment is required in either plan, though a down payment earns an earlier delivery date in the Kişiye Özel Plan. The company's home page advertises delivery without guarantors or promissory notes. You can buy any home or roofed workplace in Turkey with a sufficient valuation, or any registered vehicle up to 25 years old without a heavy damage record.