How to open an account and get a card in a Turkish bank?

Turkey, like the Russian Federation, is a country located in two parts of the world, Europe and Asia. As a jurisdiction for opening an account in 2022, Turkey is in the lead among Russians. Unfortunately, at the moment, it is impossible to open an account in Turkish banks remotely, you need to come, at least for a few days. The Turkish banking system offers a wide range of card products for non-residents from Russia. The process of opening an account may be complicated by the complete lack of communication in Russian, as well as not always possible understanding of English by the parties. However, the road will be mastered by the person walking, and those who have opened an account are advised not to give up after the first refusal, but to visit several branches of different banks, in this case success is almost guaranteed.

Банк в Турции

The banking sector of the Republic of Turkey includes about 50 banks, including more than 30 with foreign capital. The conditions for opening an account for non-residents from Russia are different, and depend not only on the bank and branch, but also on a specific employee. The most popular, already knowledgeable Russians and fairly easy to open accounts can be called three banks: Denizbank (Denizbank), Ziraat Bankasi (Ziraatbank) and VakifBank (Vakifbank).

You should also pay attention to the geolocation of branches, according to the reviews of the Relocatus channel that opened cards, bank offices in the resort cities of Antalya, Alanya, etc. more accustomed to Russians, it is easier and faster to open accounts. In most cases, banks open a multi-currency card in dollars, euros, Turkish lira and rarely rubles. The card is debit, and the bank imposes requirements for a deposit on the account, which must remain untouched from 1 to 3 months, depending on the conditions. Its size is determined individually in negotiations with a bank employee, usually the amount is called in Turkish lira and starts from 10,000 lira, but can reach 10,000 US dollars.

As a rule, large deposits are announced in cases when the bank does not have the desire or ability to open an account. There are banks where there are no deposits, and you can only pay for the issue of the card, but the functionality of the card will be limited to conversion through lira, which accordingly carries additional exchange costs. The current account ("Mevduat Hesabı") - it is usually opened for the use of the card assumes the usual functionality of an individual's bank account for daily use, replenishment and purchases, payment of bills, air tickets and hotels. To open an account in a Turkish bank, you will need a standard set, somewhat similar to the set of options for opening an account in Kazakhstan:

the phone number of the local mobile operator (it is possible to issue a mobile bank to a Russian SIM card);
passport with a mark of legal entry into Turkey;
a Russian passport with a permanent registration address (they often began to require a copy with a translation, sometimes notarized, with a permanent registration address in the Russian Federation);
a Turkish TIN (obtained by filling out a questionnaire on the website https://ivd.gib.gov.tr / ), or during a personal visit. cash for deposit.

The card processing period depends on the bank and can range from a day to a week.

Zirrat Bank

In Ziraat Bank, the probability of opening an account is less than in Deniz Bank.

The big disadvantage of Ziraat is that you will not be able to send a swift transfer online without a residence permit.

Card currency: USD, EUR, TRY The card is not registered, it is issued immediately. If it is registered, then the waiting period is about a week.

Deposit according to the situation, there are cases of opening without a deposit. The package of documents is standard, in rare cases they ask for a Russian TIN.

Deniz Bank

Deniz bank is the most common bank in Turkey among non-residents from the Russian Federation.

It has support in Russian and English.

Card currency: USD, EUR, TRY The card is registered, issued immediately. The service is free of charge.

The daily payment limit is 30,000 liras The daily limit for ATM withdrawals is 5000 liras. A larger amount can be withdrawn at the branch. You can reduce the spending limit in the application, but increase it only through the branch in which the account was opened It is impossible to pay more than 1000 liras (~ $ 58) on services where there is no SMS confirmation of payment, most often this problem is Airbnb and Booking. A good mobile application, the ability to convert USD and EUR online. If necessary, it is possible to issue a Deniz Bank credit card. It has wider limits and allows you to make online payments.

To make a card, you will need a deposit of at least 13,000 liras, we put it at 20.5%. At the same time, they give a credit limit of 10,000 liras. Among other advantages of the card is the possibility of increasing the limit by depositing funds from your debit accounts. For example, your limit is 10,000 liras. Top up 30,000 liras from your debit account. Your credit limit increases to 40,000 liras. You can also note an interest-free period of 60 days, a more favorable rate when buying, no restrictions when paying online (3d secure). The card processing period is usually one to two weeks. There is a possibility of accelerated registration in 1 day.

Vakifbank

Card currency: USD, EUR, TRY, RUB The card is unnamed, which is issued immediately.

The deposit is 504 lira, with a contribution of 505 lira-1 lira appears on the account.

There are also cases of opening a card for 2020 Turkish lira without a deposit.

The package of documents is standard, the bank is not very common among non-resident Russians.

Advantages of Turkish bank cards, with their help you can:

receive funds from all over the world from employers, customers, etc.;

pay for foreign subscriptions and services not available in the Russian Federation;
order goods from online stores around the world, such as Ebay, Etsy, Amazon, etc.
book hotels and pay for tickets, make purchases while traveling around the world.

Among the disadvantages can be noted:

the need for a deposit to open a card;
the lack of clear conditions and criteria for opening, which leads to the fact that you need to bargain as "on the market";
the need to visit several banks, offices and even cities in search of acceptable opening conditions.

If you need help opening an account in Turkey, write your questions in the Relocatus telegram channel.

In conclusion, we would like to remind you of the need to notify the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation about opening a bank account abroad. And also about the cash flow on it.