Paying with a Foreign Card in Türkiye 2025: Exchange Rates and Currency Conversion

سفير تركيا

سفير تركيا

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If your card is issued outside Türkiye and its billing currency is not Turkish lira, currency conversion can add to the cost of purchases and cash withdrawals.

Editorial clarification — 8 October 2026: Choosing TRY usually avoids the merchant’s or ATM operator’s dynamic currency conversion (DCC). Your card issuer may still apply its own exchange rate, foreign-transaction fee or cash-withdrawal charge. Compare the disclosed costs; paying in TRY is not a guarantee of the lowest possible total price. See Visa’s explanation of DCC.

1. Why the final cost can differ from the displayed price​

There are two possible conversion routes:
  1. The card network and/or issuing bank converts a TRY transaction into your card’s billing currency.
  2. The merchant or ATM operator offers to convert the transaction into your home currency using DCC.
DCC includes the provider’s conversion rate and any disclosed fees or markup. Check these before accepting it.

2. What is dynamic currency conversion?​

DCC is the option to pay or be billed in your card’s home currency instead of local currency. It can look convenient, but its rate and markup may make the transaction more expensive.

The terminal may ask:
  • “Pay in your home currency?”
  • “Charge in SAR, USD or EUR?”
You should be shown both currency amounts, the exchange rate and any additional fees. The merchant or ATM operator must give you the choice and must not select conversion on your behalf.

A useful default: choose TRY​

For a purchase priced in Turkish lira, select TRY to decline DCC and leave any necessary conversion to your issuer or card network. Review your card’s own foreign-currency terms beforehand.

3. Withdrawing TRY from an ATM​

An ATM may offer to bill a TRY withdrawal in your home currency. Decline its conversion and choose TRY if you want your issuer to handle the conversion.

Read the separate ATM fee disclosure too. Avoiding DCC does not remove the operator’s withdrawal fee, your issuer’s cash fee or any credit-card cash-advance interest.

4. Keeping conversion costs under control​

  • Check that the final transaction currency is TRY when you intend to decline DCC.
  • Read the conversion offer and fee screen before confirming.
  • Check your bank’s transaction notification and statement.
  • Keep the receipt or dekont if the charged amount or currency differs from what you authorised, and contact the issuer about the discrepancy.

Practical takeaway​

Selecting your home currency may feel clearer, but it also accepts the DCC provider’s conversion terms. Choosing TRY is a useful way to avoid that conversion, while checking the charges your own card still applies.


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