Visa/MasterCard cards in TRY currency — peculiarities and currency exchange
The monetary unit in Turkey is the Turkish lira (TRY). Turkey is a popular tourist destination, and this country is extremely friendly to bank cards. The Turkish card market is one of the widest in the world, with the total number of TRY cards exceeding 35 million.
Cards are accepted in almost all public and private organisations and are widely used as a payment method for goods and services. They can be used to purchase goods from abroad through foreign currency transactions.
Features of Visa/MasterCard TRY cards
If you use a Turkish Lira card for purchases abroad, or vice versa, a card from your home country in Turkey, you will usually have to pay two types of fees:
- Foreign transaction fees. Their size reaches 3%.
- Currency conversion fees. Often offered by ATMs and service providers/goods sellers.
Issuing a virtual TRY card — a digital card that can be used for online shopping linked to mobile applications is possible.
Banks providing card issuing services in Turkey
The most popular provider of bank cards in Turkey is Garanti Bank. In addition to it, it is worth noting:
- Yapi Kredi bank;
- Anadolubank;
- Ziraat Bank;
- Seker Bank;
- İş Bank;
- Fibabank, etc.
As a rule, it is difficult for a foreigner to issue a Turkish card, as the services are primarily oriented toward the country's citizens.
History of the Turkish lira
Turkey, as a country, has a long and turbulent history, and the same can be said about its currency. The lira has undergone many changes since it was first established as the national currency.
The lira was introduced as a form of currency in 1844 when it was called the Ottoman lira and replaced the previous monetary unit, the Kura. In 1923, the Ottoman Empire fell, the Republic of Turkey came into existence, and the lira was renamed Turkish.
Until the 1970s, the currency was considered one of the most stable in the world, but then it was also subject to inflation. Due to severe devaluation that could not be stopped, the government abandoned the old lira and created a new currency. In 2005, the new lira (TRY) was introduced, with 1 unit replacing 1 million old lira.
As for the designation (ticker) of the currency, it was initially written as TL. The current monetary sign was selected from 8000 variants by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey in 2012.
Visa/MasterCard TRY online exchange
It is easy to top up your card in liras with any other currency or, on the contrary, to exchange liras, you can quickly and favourably with the help of online exchangers.
Find the right one using our service by selecting the currency/cryptocurrency to be given and received using the lists on the left side of the screen. By default, exchangers are ordered by the most favourable exchange rate. Choose the one that suits you best in terms of conditions, go to it, carefully fill in all the fields of the application and make the exchange.
