IV |
HOW
TO MAKE THE PAYMENTS? BANK ACCOUNTS |
|
4.1 |
Why
is a bank account needed? |
According to the
current regulations, any monetary transaction which
exceeds YTL 8,000 (approximately £ 3,000) has
to be made through Banks, Participation Banks or Post Office (PTT).
Making your payments
through the systems mentioned above will enable you
to document your property-buying transactions. In case
of any dispute or undesirable events, you will be able
to make use of those records.
4.2 |
Which
currency should be used? |
You can make your payment in GBP,
USD, EURO, New Turkish Lira (YTL)-the local currency-
or the other convertible currencies sold or purchased
by the Central Bank of Turkey. If you want to carry
out your transactions in YTL, then you are advised
to convert your currency into YTL at Banks, Participation Banks or authorised change bureaus
in Turkey (You can find daily indicative exchange
rates at www.tcmb.gov.tr)
Some foreign nationals prefer
setting all price terms in the purchase&sale contracts
in New Turkish Lira so as not to encounter any tax
evasion complications due to a possible conversion
error.
4.3 |
Contact
information of Turkish Banks |
Please find the full list of Banks
based in Turkey and the Turkish banks based in the
UK on our banking
page.
Please also refer to www.bddk.org.tr
for the full list of Banks and Participation Banks in Turkey.
4.4 |
Types
of bank accounts |
YTL-denominated and FX-denominated
accounts: You can
open an account in New Turkish Lira (YTL) or in any
currency convertible in Turkey, including Sterling.
There are no limits on the number of FX-based accounts.
Savings (depository) accounts:
If you invest in a savings account at a bank, at the
end of the savings term, you earn an interest on the
money you deposited.
If you do not wait for the end-of
the savings term and withdraw your money in your account
before the term ends, no interest is paid to you and
you only take back the principal.
However, many banks in Turkey
automatically set another savings term if an account
holder does not withdraw his/her money at the end
of a savings term. What banks do is they consider
the money which accumulated in the account as the
new principal and they apply the current interest
rates to this new principal. Unless the account holder
withdraws the accumulated money, the period renewal
is repeated at the end of each savings term.
Thus, if you plan to open a savings
account, please make sure whether the bank provides
the automatic savings-term renewal.
Savings accounts can be either
in YTL or in any convertible foreign exchange. Savings
term starts from 1 month and may stretch to more than
a year.
As of August 2005, the average
nominal interest rate for YTL-denominated savings
accounts is around 16% whereas those for FX-based
accounts are close to the rates in the countries where
the currency in question is used.
Current (depository)
accounts: these are the accounts in which
you deposit your money and from which you can withdraw
it at any time partially or fully. No interest (or
very little interest) accrues on current accounts.
Current accounts can be either
YTL-denominated or FX-denominated.
4.5 |
Other
investment tools provided by banks in Turkey |
Banks in Turkey provide lots of
other savings instruments including trading of Treasury
bills or bonds, investing in mutual funds and equities,
trading foreign exchange etc. Banks normally assign
financial advisors to their customers and those professionals
are supposed to guide you on how to invest your money
best.
4.6 |
Internet
banking services |
Many banks in Turkey provide very
good internet banking services and do have web pages
in English language. In case you are interested in
internet banking services, please ask your bank to
provide you with the necessary authorisation passwords.
4.7 |
Opening
a bank account in Turkey |
You can open accounts at Banks
in Turkey in your own name. All you need to do this
is just to have a tax number from a local tax office,
which takes only few minutes, and then to submit it
and a copy of your passport as well to a Bank branch
you want to use.
Joint accounts can be opened.
A joint account is an account on which two or more
people do have certain rights.
While opening joint bank accounts,
make sure whether the other party has the right of
withdrawing money from this joint account without
your consent or not.
Thanks to the strict banking regulations
in Turkey, any body cannot withdraw money from your
account and any body (except Courts of Turkey in case
of legal inquiries) cannot learn the details of your
bank account unless;
• you provide the relevant
person with a valid Power of Attorney, or
• you open a joint account on which the other
party has a right to withdraw money.
4.10 |
Opening
a bank account in Turkey when you are in the
UK |
If you want a bank account in
Turkey to be opened when you are in the UK, then you
4.11 |
Using
your UK cheques in Turkey |
You can use your cheque book provided
by your bank in the UK for the payments to be made
in Turkey.
However, comparing the cost of
‘transferring money from your account in the
UK to an account in Turkey’ to ‘commission
fee to be charged on your UK cheque by Turkish banks’
may be of great importance.
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