Money is safest carried in the form of traveller’s cheques; however, these are difficult to change in regional areas. With plenty of ATM’s in major cities more and more people are bringing a combination of cash and credit cards. Look for ATMs displaying either the Maestro, Cirrus, Visa or MasterCard or whatever your card symbol is. ATMs will allow you to access cash (in local currency) from your credit card and possibly from your savings account if it is linked to Maestro or Cirrus or Visa Plus network.

Withdrawn money or the purchase amount will be converted precisely by www.tcmb.gov.tr official rates. If you are bringing cash, then the best currencies are US Dollars, Euro’s or British Pounds. Be aware that most insurance policies will not cover for loss or theft of cash. Credit cards are useful for large purchases but they may not be accepted in small restaurants, mini markets, local transport, taxis. More likely they will only accept cash as payment for goods or services.

The Turkish currency is the Turkish ‘Lira’ (TL) is divided into 100 Kurus (KR) and these are all coins and bank notes are available in denominations of 1 TL, 5 TL, 10 TL, 20 TL, 50 TL, 100 TL and 200 TL. The Turkish Lira Currency can be exchanged at airports, banks and exchange booths of which there are many. Banks open mainly Monday to Friday from 8.30pm to 5.00pm. All bank branches have ATMs which accept Cirrus, Plus and just about every credit card and ATM’s can also be found at ideally in many places.

Major credit cards are widely accepted. Traveller’s cheques can be exchanged at banks and hotels. $ US or € Euros are preferred. Post Offices in the larger towns will sometimes change currency and travellers cheques for a much lower commission than banks. The local currency is Turkish Lira (TL). Check out www.tcmb.gov.tr for current exchange rates.

Currency Regulation
Limits: There is no limit on the amount of foreign currency that may be brought into Turkey, but not more than 5 5,000 worth of Turkish currency may be brought into or taken out of the country.

Exchange slips: The exchange slips for the conversion of foreign currency into Turkish lira should be kept, since you may be required to show these when reconverting your Turkish lira back into foreign currency, and when taking souvenirs out of the country (to prove that they have been purchased with legally exchanged foreign currency).