Turkey - Obtaining Cash

philstephen

I’m travelling to Turkey later in the year, first time in 25 years so no doubt things have changed considerably. As a user of UK bank products that eliminate foreign transaction fees, I’m getting the impression obtaining Turkish cash can result in other fees being charged. 

Other than hotels, are credit cards now widely accepted in most shops, places to eat and the odd taxi ride in Turkey? This isn’t a beach holiday. I’ll be in large cities like Ankara and Sivas using trains.  

Regarding cash, if I do really need to get hold of some, these are some of the options I’ve looked into.

1. Using this tool - https://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/ I see the rate offered in the UK is still about 6% worse than shown say on xe.com 

2. Exchange UK notes at a bank or Bureau de Change in Turkey. No idea of what rate / commissions are in Turkey. I never change up UK cash into local currency abroad. I suspect you won’t get anywhere close to the rate on xe.com

3. ATMs in Turkey. I use an app called ATM Fee Saver. It’s based on what users have experienced, but I see even leading Turkish banks charge a transaction fee of around 8%. Those banks that don’t  end up having the convert to local currency option instead. Some are shown as up to 12% but the user can’t always opt out. I would have thought that wouldn’t be allowed by Visa and Mastercard. Everywhere else in the world, that "convert to your card issuer's currency" option can be skipped by letting the issuing bank do the conversion. So any recommendations for completely fee-free ATMs to use in Turkey? 

Thanks. 

bagand96

When I was last in Turkiye a few years back I also used the ATM Fee Saver App and was able to track down fee-free ATMs without much issue. Unfortunately I can't remember the banks I used though.

TripAdvisor forums are also useful for this, these recent threads name ING, Ziraat, Halk and Ptt as fee free (when choosing local currency of course!)

Bring TL from UK or exchange in Istanbul? - Istanbul Forum - Tripadvisor
Which bank ATM to use for Turkish Lira? - Istanbul Forum - Tripadvisor
Trip report May 2025 - 10 day itinerary and tips - Istanbul Forum - Tripadvisor

zagfles

Changing cash in Turkey is usually good value. Also I've not known any ATMs there which force DCC, as you said I don't think it's allowed, although the ATM may have (deliberately?) confusing options. Also a lot of places particularly aimed at tourists will accept payment in major currencies eg GBP/EUR.

The thing to remember about Turkey is inflation is sky high, so often retailers prefer to be paid in a currency which won't depreciate rapidly. Same with BDCs, they prefer to hold cash which holds value better, which influences exchange rates. 

Under no circumstances get Lira in the UK, the rate will be bad and it will depreciate while you hold it.