Money and Banking in Istanbul

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The official currency of Turkey is the Yeni Turk Lirasi (YTL) 'the New Turkish Lira' and is called Turkish Lira (TL) for short . Bank notes come in 5 , 10 , 20 , 50 , 100 or 200 liras and coins come in either 5 , 10 , 25 or 50 kurush in addition to the 1 Lira coin . 1 Lira equals 100 kurush and so 1 Lira is equivalent to 2 coins of 50 kurush , 4 coins of 25 kurush , 10 coins of 10 kurush , or 20 coins of 5 kurush .

Currency Exchange Offices
Concerning money you bring with you from your home country , you can bring any amount of currency (either foreign or Turkish) into turkey as there is no limitation on the amount . Foreign currency can be exchanged at either banks or Exchange offices (döviz bürosu) , however you may prefer the more reasonable prices offered in these Exchange offices . These offices are open long hours (as a minimum , between 9am and 7pm) while exchange offices in tourist areas generally open until midnight . Upon arriving at Ataturk International Airport , you can find some exchange offices in the arrival hall that is open 24 hours a day . If you have US Dollars or Euros they can be easily changed at these Exchange offices . In addition , these two currencies are often accepted for payment without being changed . Also most hotels , car rental agencies , shops , pharmacies , venues and restaurants can accept Visa and Mastercard .

ATM Machines:
(ATMs , cashpoints) can be found in all major Turkish banks and some smaller banks , in addition to many other places as well . The machines pay out Turkish liras and can accept Bank Debit (cash) cards as well as Visa and Mastercard . There is a limit of YTL600 to YTL800 (depending on the bank) per day on cash withdrawals through ATMs . All ATMs have a language key to enable you to read the instructions in English or French . The most common banks you may find are Akbank and Yapı Kredi where there are certainly ATM Machines there . One thing you should take care of when using these machines is to make sure that the specific machine you use has a reliable connection with the ATM networks’ computers , because if there is no reliable connection the machine will display a false message saying that the transaction was refused by your bank and the card may be returned to you (hopefully) . In order to avoid such situation , you should look on the machines for stickers with the logos of (Cirrus , Maestro , Plus Systems etc) services .

Banks:
There are many private and state banks in Istanbul with their head offices , hundreds of branches in different districts of the city . Banks are usually open between 09:00 am to 5:00 pm during weekdays , closed on weekends and religious or national holidays . Some banks in big shopping malls have longer working hours and are open during weekends as well .