Receiving Money in Turkey

Here we will look at the options for receiving money in Turkey.  If you need to receive money in Turkey it is worth exploring the different methods which can save you money on transfer fees and help you get the best rates possible if you are transferring currency into Turkish Lira.  

A long-established way to transfer money to countries abroad was to use Western Union, there were limited options years ago and Western Union was one of the few options that you could use.  Charging hefty fees, they dominated the market but in recent years there are many other ways to transfer money so they moved with the times and now give you 3 ways to transfer money.  Their online banking service is available with six different Turkish Banks which are; Garanti, Seker, Yapikredi, Ziraat and Is banks.  To use this service, you log online with one of these banks, fill in the details and send the cash, for sending money via mobile banking you can use Ziraat, QNB Finansbank and Is bank and the ATM option is also available using Garanti bank.  

Using the Wise method is another option.  This company offer lower transfer fees and give the best exchange rates.  You can open a virtual bank account in many different countries and can also save your account details to receive and also send money on a regular basis and money usually arrives quickly, usually within an hour.  

This method is particularly good if you want to receive cash.  There are many various agents throughout Turkey who work on behalf of MoneyGram and there is an online map which shows you where the nearest agents to you are.  You send your cash to MoneyGram which is then forwarded to the particular agent which you can then receive for a fee, or you can have the money deposited directly into your account.

Most banks allow you to send money directly from your bank account to an overseas account.  In order to do this, you need the IBAN number of the account you are sending money to.  An IBAN is an international bank account which will normally be 26 characters and includes the country code, two check numbers, branch and account number.  

There are various other options when looking to send money to Turkey, Worldremit is one that you can collect transferred cash from the post office and Starling and Revolut online banks allow you to withdraw cash from ATM’s and shop with no fees, so another good option.  

In January 2022 Turkey introduced a new procedure when buying property in Turkey.  When you buy a property in Turkey the buyer will transfer the money in a foreign currency which is equivalent to the sale price of the property in Turkish Lira to a Turkish Bank, this must be in GBP, USD or Euros.  This is the sent by the bank to the Central Bank of Turkey.  They will then issue the Turkish Lira together with a currency exchange document which shows your name, passport number and the amount of both currencies and a statement saying ‘This transaction is carried out within the scope of Article 13 of the Circular on Capital Movements.   

This is a very important document as it is needed when you apply for the title deeds of the property you are buying and no property deeds will be transferred without it.  At Resort Property we will assist you with every step when you are buying your property for sale in Turkey.

This method is only used for buying a property in Turkey and for any other reasons you need to receive money, for residency or paying bills on your property you can use any of the methods previously mentioned.