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Send Money to Turkey

Before you decide on how to send money to Turkey, you need to know the various channels available, the information you’ll have to provide, the recipient requirements, how to track your transfer and some of the factors to look at that can affect your transfer.

Jonathan Merry
Author 
Jonathan Merry
10 minutes
February 5th, 2024
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Best Overall
Wise

Wise is our recommended provider for sending money to Turkey. This is based on having the best rates, fees and transfer times.

Fastest Option
XE

XE tends to offer fast transfer times to Turkey for many origin countries and send amounts.

Cheapest Option
Regency FX

MoneyTransfers have found RegencyFX has the lowest cost for sending to Turkey.

Ways to Send and Receive Money in Turkey

There are multiple ways to easily send and receive money in Turkey but these will largely depend on the provider you decide to use. Below you will find everything you need to know about the best ways to send money to Turkey.

Sending Money to Turkey

Ways to Send Money to Turkey

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.

Bank-to-Bank Transfers

You can transfer money from your local bank to the recipient bank in Turkey. This method is reliable and one of the best way to send money to Turkey 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.

Online Money Transfers

Money transfer service providers such as Ria, Wise, 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 deposit 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 Wise 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.

If you are an expat and would like to find out how to transfer money online as an expat, our guide will prove all the details you need.

In-Store Cash Transfers

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.

What is Needed to Send Money to Turkey

Before you send 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.

  • A government-issued photo ID document. Depending on the country you are sending from, you can use a passport, social security card or driver’s license.

  • The recipient’s name as it appears on their legal documents

  • The recipient's physical address and phone number

  • If you are sending directly to a bank account, the recipient bank details (bank name, branch and the account number)

  • The amount of money you want to send, the transfer payment option and payout methods

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.

Receiving Money in Turkey

What Are the Ways of Receiving Money in Turkey?

Transfers to Turkey can be received in one of two ways: direct-to-bank deposits or cash pickups. Some mobile apps for money transfers are now active in Turkey as well.

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.

What is Required to Receive Money in Turkey?

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.

  • Your Turkish Identity Card or passport

  • The transaction number

Because of money laundering controls, you may be asked to identify the sender and probably the reason for the transfer.

Common Reasons for Sending Money to Turkey

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.

Family Support

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.

Purchase of Services and Goods

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.

Income Repatriation

Turks working abroad may from time to time send part of their earnings back home.

Property Purchase

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.

Savings

Turks who plan on coming home someday usually send money to savings instruments and vehicles back home.

Why Send Money with a Money Transfer Service?

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:

Faster Transfers

It takes a maximum of 3 days for money transfer service providers to deliver funds to the recipient. If the sender pays for the transfer through credit/debit cards and chooses cash pickup as the payout option, the transfer is processed within minutes.

Ease of Signup

Opening a money transfer service account and the subsequent verification process takes less than two hours. Going forward, none of the verifications would be required meaning faster transfers.

Low Exchange Rate Margins

How much you will get when you exchange your host currency with the Turkish Lira depends on the exchange rate margin the provider charges. Banks charge margins of up to 5%, way higher than the 0.5-3% money transfer providers charge.

Low Transfer Fees

Compared to banks that may charge up to $40 for transfers to Turkey, money transfer providers may charge only 10% of the bank charges for the same transfer. Some providers such as TransferWise combine all transfer charges including payment methods fees into one price for ease of transactions.

Multi-Currency Support

With transfers coming into Turkey from countries as far as Serbia, Puerto Rico and Panama, the need for a provider that can support a host of currencies can not be overemphasised. Money transfer operators support funds transfers from over 200 countries in 60+ currencies.

Security

Cybercrime has become one of the highest risks in money transfer operations. To safeguard their customers, money transfer providers have put in place industry-grade security measures such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and two-factor authentication (2FA) systems.

Things to Consider When Sending Money to Turkey

When deciding on the best way to send 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:

  • Taxes On Personal Income: Turkish residents are taxed on their global income but non-residents are only taxed on the income earned from Turkey. Therefore, remittance from abroad doesn’t constitute income for the recipient hence not taxed.

  • Tax Amnesty for Repatriation of Foreign Assets: There is a minimal tax burden for Turkish residents who want to bring their foreign assets whether they are physical or financial assets. The tax amnesty is set at 1% of the value of the repatriated assets. Within 3 months of the declaration date, the assets must have been repatriated to enjoy the amnesty.

  • Foreign Exchange Performance: The Turkish Lira has been subject to stabilising measures by the government. In terms of its performance against other currencies, its record has been a little shaky. With international sanctions not far off the radar, it is important to consider its near term and projected long-term performance to help you time your remittances.

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.

Looking to Send Money Somewhere Else?

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.

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Contributors

Jonathan Merry
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