How to Open a Bank Account in Turkey
If you are planning to stay for an extended time or to permanently live in Turkey whether you are a student or an immigrant, it will become a necessity for you to open an account in Turkish banks. Opening a bank account in Turkey will facilitate your almost every financial need and it is a very easy task to accomplish.
Required Documents to Open a Bank Account in Turkey
Turkish Banks may have slightly different requirements regarding opening a bank account to a non-Turkish national but the documents they will ask are usually the same.
1) A valid passport that has a foreign ID number.
2) Tax identification number. You can obtain this number free by visiting a Finance and Tax Office near you.
3) Proof of address. It can be a utility bill, residence permit, or valid rental contract.
After you have these necessary documents you can open various types of bank accounts in Turkey. You can also check bank websites that operate in Turkey to have more detailed information about the process of opening a bank account. They are available in many languages. It is also possible for you to open a bank account in Turkey without personally being in Turkey via the internet but some banks may ask for a registered local phone number.
Types of Bank Accounts
Checking Account
A Checking Account is a non-term account that you can withdraw or deposit money any time you like. You can use this account to transfer your money freely to your and other people’s accounts, repayment of loans, various other payments including fees, bills, rent, and to transfer foreign currency transactions and many more. This type of account usually does not have the benefit of gaining interest over-time.
Savings Account
Savings accounts are used to avoid interest gains and directly collected money as capital in financial trade and various services. Depending on how you wish to save and your preferred interest rate, there are usually two different savings accounts. One is where you can put your money on an account where you can only withdraw at the end of the month, which will gain interest on a fixed (that changes with every term) amount agreed at the beginning of each month. Gained money is distributed at the end of the agreed term instead of weekly or monthly payments.
The second option is to open a savings account that has a daily varied interest rate, but you will be able to move money as you wish. The interest rate on the second option is lower than first, but certainly allows more freedom on how you wish to spend your money.
Gold and Foreing Currency Account
A current gold account is mostly about saving money with gold and is also an indefinite account. Thanks to a current gold account you can sell or buy gold at any time you like or issue gold checks and convert gold to cash. These types of accounts usually have variations with USD and Euro so that you can continue to increase your foreign currency through interest.
