Through its collaboration with Qlik and BI Technology, Kredi Kayıt Bürosu (KKB) has developed the MERCEK platform — an initiative that not only enables access to data but also generates insights that guide the financial ecosystem.
Could you briefly tell us about your organization and the services you provide?
MİNE BAŞARA:
Kredi Kayıt Bürosu was founded in 1995 through the partnership of nine leading banks in Türkiye. Our purpose was clear from the beginning: to ensure that capital reaches the right customers.
Over the past 30 years, with more than 200 members and over 90 products, we’ve seen our commitment, continuous pursuit of innovation, and our sense of responsibility toward our country take us to an entirely new level.
KKB is not only an essential part of the financial world but also of the entire economic ecosystem. We are the trusted partner of the financial sector, supporting banks and financial institutions in making accurate credit decisions through the data and solutions we provide.
We also help corporations in the real sector manage their risks and gain easier access to financing. For individuals, our services empower citizens to track their own financial history and make more informed decisions. Finally, we support public authorities by providing reliable data for monitoring the economy and guiding policy-making processes.
Financial institutions need comparative reports to evaluate their positions in the market and benchmark themselves against competitors. When customers’ financial history and risk profiles are accurately assessed, credit decisions can be made on a much safer and more sustainable basis.
In today’s rapidly evolving financial environment, making the right decision instantly and managing risks effectively is only possible through strong data infrastructure and real-time analytics. At that point, as we were seeking a solution to meet our members’ needs, we met Qlik.
What did your collaboration with Qlik bring to your organization? How would you compare the “before” and “after” periods of this partnership?
MİNE BAŞARA:
By combining KKB’s vast sectoral data diversity and scale with Qlik’s powerful analytical infrastructure, we launched our analytical reporting platform for the use of our members.
Thanks to this collaboration, our institutions gained not only fast and reliable reporting capabilities but also a more efficient, flexible, and future-ready analytical structure.
For us, performance and data security were key priorities. We chose Qlik because it enables rapid solution development for new needs, allows user-based authorization so that each user accesses only the data within their permissions, and ensures that data storage and sharing are carried out through strict information security protocols.
If you were to summarize it in one sentence, how would you describe the contribution of Qlik products to your organization and daily operations?
MİNE BAŞARA:
Today, our Qlik-based analytical reporting platform has become one of the most frequently used platforms among our members. Qlik not only visualizes data — it helps us ask the right questions and get the right answers at the right time.
In short, we are not only accessing data anymore; we are creating value from it.
Are there any future projects planned with Qlik products at KKB?
ASENA SARIÇAM:
MERCEK is a continuously developing and expanding analytical reporting platform. Our goal is to add new data sets — within regulatory boundaries — by leveraging our rich data diversity. This will enhance analytical accuracy and enable more precise decision-making based on a wider range of data.
We also aim to create a Self-Service BI environment where our members can build their own reports. We want to make the most of Qlik’s capabilities — not only for report monitoring but also for report creation — and offer this experience directly to our members.
Another future plan is to develop AI-driven reports. Our aim here is to provide automatic and proactive answers to the question: “We have the data, but where is the insight?”
How would you describe your synergy with BI Technology and your experience during the implementation phase of the project?
MİNE BAŞARA:
Our strategic partnership with BI Technology has been one of the most critical building blocks of MERCEK. BI Technology is not just a technical support provider for us — it is a true partner that strengthens our analytical vision, guiding us at every stage from installation and configuration to dashboard development and performance optimization.
Thanks to this strong collaboration, our institutions have gained not only reliable and fast reporting capabilities but also more efficient, flexible, and future-ready analytical processes.
In short, the success of MERCEK is built upon the expertise and synergy we have developed together with BI Technology.
Could you tell us about your organization’s approach to technology and your use of business intelligence applications?
ASENA SARIÇAM:
In today’s world, all businesses must deliver personalized customer experiences quickly and at low cost to stay competitive. With recent advancements in generative AI, technology can now deliver significant value across all aspects of business operations.
To realize these benefits, organizations must effectively manage a few key components together — technology infrastructure and data being the foremost among them.
KKB plays a crucial role at this intersection. As a credit bureau, we provide the data dimension. On the infrastructure side, we operate a state-of-the-art data center equipped with the latest technology, delivering nearly 100 services to the financial sector 24/7 without interruption.
The core purpose of the services we offer to the financial sector is to help institutions make accurate decisions. Therefore, in addition to raw data, we provide analytical products that improve decision-making processes. By understanding data more deeply every day, we continue to build stronger products.
What role do business intelligence solutions play within your organization? How did your journey with Qlik begin?
ASENA SARIÇAM:
As Kredi Kayıt Bürosu, one of our key goals is to respond to the needs of the financial sector in the most accurate way possible. We closely monitor their expectations and how these evolve over time to identify where they need the most support — and that is exactly where our collaboration with Qlik provides immense value.