Alexander Bespalov, founder of the international consulting boutique Bespalov Finance, told RIA Novosti about the situation with opening accounts and obtaining bank cards in Turkey in 2025.
What documents are required to open an account and a bank card in Turkey
To apply for a bank card, the following documents are required:
valid passport;
Turkish INN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, also known as Vergi Numerasi). This is a set of 10 digits. You can apply for it online on the website ivd.gib.gov.tr . But there is a nuance - to register, you need a passport registered in the Turkish information system. So, to apply, you need to cross the Turkish border, which becomes an obstacle to taiyuan mobile number database remotely opening accounts and receiving cards. True, some intermediaries still help to open accounts in Turkey remotely, but de jure this is impossible. And such a service is not cheap;
proof of income. This requirement is not specified by law, but in practice, when applying in person, a certificate of income may be required. It is often easier to open an account by making a deposit of a reasonable size (usually from $1,000 to $3,000);
Residence permit. Almost all Turkish banks require a residence permit, especially when it comes to opening an account in Turkish lira. With foreign currency, the situation is somewhat simpler.
It is important to emphasize that having a local SIM card to open an account is not necessary; it can be linked to a Russian phone number.
Which Turkish banks are best for Russians to open accounts in 2025
Photo - © Valeria Luzina / Lori Photobank
At the moment, only two banks open accounts more or less reliably for non-residents (i.e. people without a residence permit): Vakif Bank and Ziraat Bank. They have similar conditions (multicurrency accounts in lira, dollars and euros), applications and online banking in English and Turkish, the ability to pay for purchases and services around the world.
When opening an account through intermediaries, there are no problems in both banks, but when applying independently, Vakif has better reviews, since Ziraat has problems with the knowledge of English (not to mention Russian) among employees. But in Ziraat Bank, it is somewhat easier to replenish an account from the Russian Federation. This can be done not only by incoming SWIFT transfer in currency, but also, for example, through Zolotaya Korona, Webmoney and cryptocurrency in USDT. Not all of these options may be available at Vakif (the situation changes periodically), Bespalov explains.