ATM Fees in Türkiye: Some Banks Charge Nothing, Others 12 Percent

Last updated on 12 September 2026

Türkiye has the widest spread of any destination in our dataset. Several banks charge foreign cards nothing at all, while others take 8 to 12 percent of the amount you withdraw. On 5,000 lira that is 400 to 600 lira you simply would not have paid at a machine a hundred metres away.

The banks that charge nothing

As of 12 September 2026. ✓✓ = confirmed by two independent sources (the POVNOMAD fee dataset and independent travel guides, retrieved 12 September 2026). ✓ = single source so far (ATM Fee Saver via the POVNOMAD dataset, as of 1 September 2026); we could not cross-check those four. Fees in Türkiye change often and demonstrably did so in 2026: the figure shown on the ATM screen is what applies.

Halkbank and the post office machines are the two we would commit to. Both are independently described as fee-free, and PTT has the widest coverage outside the cities.

Ziraat: where the sources disagree

Ziraat Bankası was for years the reliably free option in Türkiye, and plenty of guides still say so. That is out of date: according to consistent reports, Ziraat has charged foreign cards since around May 2026.

How much is disputed. Our dataset lists 8 percent of the amount; international traveller reports describe a flat charge in the region of 30 to 100 lira. Those are fundamentally different models — on 5,000 lira it is either 400 lira or at most 100. We cannot resolve the contradiction and therefore treat neither figure as settled.

The practical consequence: Ziraat is no longer the safe bet older recommendations make it out to be. Read the fee screen before confirming, or use Halkbank or PTT.

Two banks that are free only under conditions

İş Bankası is often listed as fee-free. Per our dataset that holds only for certain cards issued in specific countries; most foreign cards pay 9.99 percent. Do not rely on it.

TEB is free for Global ATM Alliance cards and charges roughly 10 percent for everyone else. The alliance comprises Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Scotiabank and Westpac, and TEB belongs to the BNP Paribas group. If your card came from one of those, TEB costs you nothing; every other card pays double digits there.

Albaraka sits in between at 1.15 percent plus 1.04 lira, with a 20,000 lira limit. Considerably cheaper than the 8 percent group, but not free.

The expensive machines

As of 12 September 2026. These values come from the POVNOMAD fee dataset (ATM Fee Saver, as of 1 September 2026) and are not confirmed by a second source. Independent traveller reports consistently describe Garanti BBVA, Yapı Kredi, Akbank and QNB Finansbank as expensive and put the figure at 8 to 14 percent — so the direction holds, but we could not verify the exact rate per bank. Higher numbers circulate for individual card types; we deliberately do not repeat them because we cannot evidence them. Yapı Kredi’s 12.09 % is 10.52 % plus 15 % VAT. Anadolubank applies a 200 ₺ minimum and a 4,000 ₺ maximum.

Even with that uncertainty the conclusion is unambiguous: withdrawing 5,000 lira four times over a fortnight at one of the expensive banks costs around 2,400 lira. At Halkbank or PTT it costs nothing. The doubt concerns the decimal place, not the order of magnitude.

The second charge almost everyone misses

Beyond the operator fee there is a second hand in your pocket: currency conversion at the machine, known as Dynamic Currency Conversion. The ATM asks whether to bill you in your home currency and applies its own, worse rate.

At Turkish machines this surcharge is unusually steep, and the wording is bank-specific:

• Halkbank: “Other Options” → “Decline Conversion”, or 8 percent is added.
• Garanti BBVA: choose “Continue with TL”, or 10 percent extra.
• ING: press “Decline conversion”, or 12 percent. If the machine only dispenses with “Accept Conversion”, cancel and find another.
• Denizbank: “Decline conversion”, or 10 percent.
• Şekerbank: “Decline conversion”, or 9.5 percent plus VAT.
• Ziraat: sometimes forces the conversion even if you decline.
• Yapı Kredi: may not display the fee on screen at all.

The rule at any machine anywhere: always settle in local currency, so in lira. Your own bank then converts at the Visa or Mastercard rate, which beats any ATM rate. The full explanation is in With or without conversion? — the ATM screens are reproduced there.

Can I withdraw euros or dollars in Türkiye?

Some machines in tourist areas offer it, and it rarely makes sense. You pay the machine’s exchange rate instead of your bank’s, and the operator fee still applies. If you need hard currency, bring it; if you need lira, withdraw lira.

What your own bank adds

The percentages above are the Turkish operator’s charge and apply whoever issued your card. On top, most banks add a foreign transaction fee, commonly around 1 to 3 percent, and some add a flat charge per withdrawal.

One documented exception matters: cards in the Global ATM Alliance withdraw at TEB without an operator fee. For every other card the normal list applies. Look up two numbers before you travel — the foreign transaction fee as a percentage and the flat charge per withdrawal. We deliberately name no individual issuer’s terms; they change often, and only your bank can confirm them.

IMEI registration only matters with a local SIM

A topic often confused with money: Türkiye registers the IMEI of phones used with a Turkish SIM card. After roughly 120 days an unregistered device is blocked from Turkish networks, and registration carries a substantial fee.

For travellers using a travel eSIM this does not apply — it roams through a foreign carrier rather than running on a Turkish SIM. If you buy a local prepaid card, look into it first.

Why you want a signal at the machine

Turkish percentage fees make checking essential: whether 8 or 12 percent came off is something you only see in your banking app. And many banks now require approval through a push notification for withdrawals abroad — with no signal, the card is declined.

A Türkiye eSIM from POVNOMAD starts at €2.90, and the premium version with two networks at €3.90. Install it at home by QR code; validity starts when it first connects in Türkiye. Unlimited plans include tethering at no extra cost up to the daily allowance, after which the connection continues at 1 Mbit/s. How Türkiye compares with other providers is covered in our Türkiye eSIM comparison.

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