Before you send money to Turkey, you need to know the various channels available, the information you’ll have to provide, the recipient requirements, and some of the factors to look at that can affect your transfer.
Sending money to Turkey is simple and easy. Follow these steps to get started.
There are multiple ways to easily send and receive money in Turkey Kenya but these will largely depend on the provider you decide to use. Below you will find everything you need to know about sending and receiving money.
Whether you are sending money to your family, relatives or business associates in Turkey, there are a couple of formal channels you can use. You can make bank-to-bank transfers, use online money transfer services or walk into a store and do cash transfers to the recipient.
You can transfer money from your local bank to the recipient bank in Turkey. This method is reliable when transferring large sums of money. However, for small amounts, transfer fees can be significantly high. The time banks take to deliver transfers is typically about 3 to 5 days.
For instance, if you transfer 1000 EUR from Germany to Turkey through Deutsche Bank, it can take anywhere from 3-5 business days. The cost of the transfer is approximately €41.55, combining both the exchange rate margin and transfer fees.
For faster bank-to-bank transfers look for banks in the host country that have branches in Turkey. If you are making a transfer through Deutsche Bank, you could link up with Deutsche Bank Istanbul.
If you are transferring money from France, you could use BNP Paribas as it has a branch in Turkey, BNP Paribas Turkey. This ensures that your transfers get to the recipient a little faster and in a more cost-effective way.
Money transfer service providers such as Ria, TransferWise, WorldRemit, Xpress Money, Remitly, and Smallworld are some of the most popular operators on the various remittance corridors to Turkey. Compared to banks, these providers give you faster transfer times, simpler platforms to make your transfer, cost-effective in fees and exchange rate margins.
To make a transfer, you have to sign up for an account, give your information for verification and once approved, you can pay for your transfer. It takes a few minutes to do all this save for the one-time verification that could take a couple of hours depending on the provider.
When paying for your transfer, the provider you go for will determine whether you will use debit cards, credit cards, or bank transfers. Some providers like Xoom are flexible on payment options. As for the payout options, some providers have both cash pickups and direct-to-bank transfers while others only have one of the two.
The most important factors to look at when choosing money transfer service providers are the transfer fee, the exchange rate margin, and the speed of delivery. Some providers choose not to charge transfer fees, others do not charge exchange rate margins, while others charge both.
TransferWise is a good example of providers that don’t charge exchange rate margins. All transfers are processed at the mid-market rate. For instance, sending 1000 EUR to Turkey through TransferWise will cost you from 8.32 to 12.37 EUR depending on the transfer payment option you choose. WorldRemit charges you 17.99 EUR for a similar transfer.
In addition to cash pickups and bank deposits, some providers such as WorldRemit allow direct to mobile phone recharge. The airtime top-up is instant and the recipient receives an SMS notification. WorldRemit can recharge Vodafone and Turk Telekom prepaid mobile phones.
Cash transfer service providers like Western Union, MoneyGram, and Ria, use agents as access points in making transfers. You deposit money at an agent and they process the transfer on your behalf.
When sending money from the United Kingdom to Turkey, the maximum you can transfer through Western Union is 8,000 GBP. The receiver can get the money either in cash or as a deposit into their bank account. Direct-to-bank deposits take about 1 business day to be delivered.
The maximum amount you can transfer through MoneyGram from the United Kingdom to Turkey is 4068.00 GBP. All transfers are directed to cash pickup points and can be paid for via debit/credit card, Sofort or cash at location. Cash pickups are delivered in minutes.
Before you begin the process of transferring money to Turkey, there is some information you’ll need. Providers have varying requirements but the following is a generalised list of what is typically required.
The bulk of this information is only required when opening the account. Going forward only the recipient information will be asked for. In the case of repeat transfers, no extra information is needed, the systems can recall al the details of the previous transfer.
Transfers to Turkey can be received in one of two ways: direct-to-bank deposits or cash pickups
Direct-to-Bank Deposits -Online money transfer services allow for direct deposits to bank accounts in Turkey. As long as the recipient has an account in one of the major banks, they can receive money this way.
Cash Pickup – Online money transfers have partnered with entities in Turkey to use their premises as cash disbursement points for transfers. For instance, WorldRemit has partnered with Money Post Office Turkey UPT Aktif Bank and the Turkish Post for cash pickups.
Apart from direct to bank deposits where you are not required to do anything, cash pickups require not just your physical presence, but also some information.
Because of money laundering controls, you may be asked to identify the sender and probably the reason for the transfer.
There are many reasons indicated by those sending money to Turkey. The reasons are as varied as the number of transactions processed at any one given period.
An increasing number of Turkish diaspora send money home to support their families. This could be in the form of an income supplement or basic support for household expenses.
Businesses that hire Turkish contractors, employees or freelancers usually send money for wages, salaries and contractor payments. Also, some of the money sent to Turkey is for vendor payments for goods supplied.
Turks working abroad may from time to time send part of their earnings back home.
Turks have the desire and intention to invest in real assets back home. One of the most preferred investment niches is the real estate sector and specifically buying of residential and commercial properties.
Turks who plan on coming home someday usually send money to savings instruments and vehicles back home.
Money transfer service providers introduced innovative ways of transferring money from one point to another across and within country borders. Some of the benefits and knock-on effects of these investments include:
When transferring money to Turkey, the last thing you would want is an interruption to your transfer or missed opportunities. This could be from the provider or from the recipient end of the transaction. When sending money to Turkey, you need to consider the following factors:
Getting the right channel when sending money to Turkey is extremely important. By all means possible you should opt for providers who guarantee lower transfer fees, favourable exchange rates, timely deliveries and the other factors discussed in the guide.
Sending money anywhere else in the world is as easy as sending money to Turkey. If you're looking to send money to another country, here is the list of the most popular destinations.
Jonathan is the founder and editor of MoneyTransfers.com. Jonathan is highly experienced in the currency transfer market, having previously worked in the FX trading industry, alongside being an avid traveller. Using his knowledge he identified a need for transparency and further education to help people save money on their money transfers, leading to the creation of MoneyTransfers.com