Top Management

Top Management

INTERBANK CARD CENTER

GENERAL MANAGER

Ozan DENIZ – General Manager

Ozan Deniz graduated from Boğaziçi University, Department of Computer Engineering 2005. He received his Master’s in Computer Engineering from Middle East Technical University and MBA from the University of Texas. In 2018, he completed the Harvard Business Review Executive Leadership Program.

Ozan Deniz started his career at the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye in 2006 and held managerial positions in Information Technologies, Business Development, Payment Systems and Financial Technologies departments.

During his tenure as Deputy General Manager at the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye, he played an essential role in steering FAST, which is positioned as the base infrastructure of our country’s retail payment ecosystem, by coordinating the whole project from beginning to end.

He led the in-house development of EFT, FAST, Proxy Addressing, QR Code, Request to Pay, and Security Overlay Services with domestic and national resources to promote the payment systems and financial technologies of Türkiye.

Ozan Deniz is currently the General Manager of the Interbank Card Centre of Türkiye.

 

DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGERS

Osman Okyar TAHAOĞLU, Deputy General Manager Digital Solutions & Card Payment Systems

Osman Okyar Tahaoğlu graduated from Dokuz Eylül University with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical-Electronics Engineering in 1998. In 2001, he earned a master’s degree in Computer Software from Izmir Institute of Technology. He obtained his Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from Dokuz Eylül University in 2009. Additionally, he holds an MBA from Istanbul Bilgi University and completed the Strategic Management program at Harvard University.

Tahaoğlu began his career as a software specialist at Türkiye İş Bankası in 1999 and has since been involved in numerous payment systems and internet banking projects. Tahaoğlu has experience as an information security manager at Turkcell Global Bilgi and as a business development expert at Turkcell. He contributed to the implementation of innovative services such as mobile signature and mobile payment.

In 2011, Tahaoğlu served as a head of product management at Interbank Card Center. He played a key role in the development and management of Türkiye’s first national digital wallet, BKM Express, from concept to implementation. Under Tahaoğlu’s leadership, BKM Express became a respected and award-winning success story in the industry. He also led teams responsible for internet payments, public payments, card on file, and TR QR Code products.

Tahaoğlu’s extensive management-level training and industry knowledge have made significant contributions to the development of innovative products and strategies in payment systems. He is a member of the Artificial Intelligence and Technology Association.
Osman Okyar Tahaoğlu currently serves as Deputy General Manager of Digital Solutions and Deputy General Manager* of Card Payment Systems at Interbank Card Center.

(*) Appointed on an acting basis.

 

Sait Zekeriya ÖZGEL, Deputy General Manager Support Services

Sait Zekeriya Özgel earned a degree in Business Administration from Istanbul University in 2003. He started his career at a consulting firm in the same year, where he specialized in finance, administrative affairs, and procurement. In 2005, Özgel joined Türkiye Finans, where he served as a manager at Corporate Banking and Branch Manager. He later became the Central Branch Manager at Vakıf Katılım.

In 2021, Özgel assumed significant responsibilities as Director of Payment and Transfer Services at Takasbank, leveraging his extensive leadership experience. Özgel successfully led various projects at Takasbank, including the membership process in FAST, integration of Real Estate Exchange and Vehicle Exchange systems with e-Government, transformation of the Gold Transfer System into the Precious Metals Transfer System with the ‘Silver’ option, and integration processes of the Mint into the BİGA Blockchain-based digital asset transfer system. He has successfully managed and implemented important projects, including Customer and Behavior Segmentation, ‘Mirror’ Targeting and Performance Management, and Customer Experience Improvement Project, leaving a significant impact on the finance sector.

Sait Zekeriya Özgel currently serves as Deputy General Manager of Support Services at Interbank Card Center.

 

Serkan EREN, Deputy General Manager Payment Platforms

Serkan Eren graduated from Ege University with a degree in Computer Engineering in 2002. He obtained an MBA degree from Maltepe University.

In 2004, he started working as a Software Specialist at Takasbank, where he gained experience in managing databases and application servers. He has played a significant role in various financial applications, compliance and transformation projects, policy and claims applications, and CRM projects at institutions such as Takasbank, Ergo Sigorta, Softtech, and Zebra Teknoloji. Furthermore, he successfully implemented a web-based platform for the electronic trading of fixed-income securities.

In 2018, Serkan Eren led the architectural design and development of several FAST layer services at Interbank Card Center, including BKM Geçit, Open Banking, BKM Payment Systems Simulators, Easy Addressing, and Request To Pay. As the head of the architectural committee, he played a crucial role in establishing corporate architectures and adopting new technologies within the organization. Eren led teams in developing solutions for scalable distributed architectures and real-time high-volume transactional applications. He has extensive experience in agile methodologies and is recognized for his leadership and achievements in technological projects.

Serkan Eren effectively leads the company’s technological strategies, drawing on his education in computer engineering and business management, as well as his comprehensive industry experience.

Currently, he serves as the Deputy General Manager of Payment Platforms at Interbank Card Center.

 

Fatih AYDEMİR, Deputy General Manager Information Technologies

Fatih Aydemir earned a degree in Computer Engineering from Kocaeli University in 2007.

He worked as a Software Engineer at several software companies before transitioning to the finance industry with Softtech in 2010.

In 2012, at the Interbank Card Center, Fatih Aydemir played an active role in developing various applications within the Payment Platforms, including the Domestic Clearing and Settlement System. He provided architectural leadership and served as a solution architect for FAST layer services, such as Easy Addressing, Request To Pay, Security Layer Services, and Merchant Registration System. With his expertise in financial technologies, Aydemir continued his career at Papara in 2023. He led the issuing and acquiring teams and significantly contributed to the transition of external service procurements to in-house implementations at Papara.

Throughout his career, Aydemir’s extensive experience and leadership qualities have made him a significant figure in the finance sector and payment systems technologies.

Fatih Aydemir is currently the Deputy General Manager of Information Technologies at Interbank Card Center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Osman Okyar Tahaoğlu,

Genel Müdür Yardımcısı

Dijital Çözümler ve Kartlı Ödeme Sistemleri

 

 

Osman Okyar Tahaoğlu, 1998 yılında Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Elektrik-Elektronik Mühendisliği lisans mezunudur. 2001 yılında İzmir Yüksek Teknoloji Enstitüsü’nden Bilgisayar Yazılımı yüksek lisans, 2009 yılında Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi’nden Bilgisayar Mühendisliği doktora derecesi almıştır. İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi’nde MBA ve Harvard Üniversitesi’nde Stratejik Yönetim programını tamamlamıştır.

Kariyerine 1999 yılında Türkiye İş Bankası’nda yazılım uzmanı olarak başlayan Tahaoğlu, ödeme sistemleri ve internet bankacılığı projelerinde görev almıştır. Turkcell Global Bilgi’de bilgi güvenliği sorumlusu ve Turkcell’de iş geliştirme uzmanı olarak çalışmış, mobil imza ve mobil ödeme gibi yenilikçi servisleri hayata geçiren ekiplerde yer almıştır.

 

2011 yılında Bankalararası Kart Merkezi’nde, Türkiye’nin ilk ulusal dijital cüzdanı BKM Express’i fikir aşamasından uygulamaya geçiş sürecine kadar iş geliştirme ve ürün yöneticisi olarak görev yapmıştır. Ekibiyle birlikte BKM Express’i sektörde saygın ve ödüller kazanan bir başarı hikâyesine dönüştürmüştür. İnternet ödemeleri, kamu ödemeleri, kart saklama ve TR Karekod ürün yönetimi ekiplerine liderlik yapmıştır.

Tahaoğlu’nun yönetim düzeyindeki eğitim ve sektörel bilgi birikimi ödeme sistemlerinde yenilikçi ürün ve stratejiler geliştirmede önemli katkılar sağlamaktadır. Yapay Zekâ ve Teknoloji Derneği üyesidir.

Osman Okyar Tahaoğlu, Dijital Çözümler Genel Müdür Yardımcısı ve (Vekâleten) Kartlı Ödeme Sistemleri Genel Müdür Yardımcısı olarak görev yapmaktadır