Everything You Want To Know About Banks In Turkey

General Information About Turkish Banks

Turkish banks are one of the main pillars to facilitate investment in various sectors in Turkey, as these banks depend on a strong and safe financial system and provide many financial services that facilitate payments, remittances and investments in Turkey.

The robust system that this Turkish bank relies on is built on strong and solid foundations as it uses the latest technology to provide comprehensive services to its customers and allows them to track all banking procedures by downloading an app exclusively for mobile phones in Google Play bank design.

Through the official apps of these Turkish banks, customers can easily transfer and receive money, exchange currency and all procedures related to buying and selling, open accounts for precious metals like gold, silver and platinum, and issue credit cards to foreigners.

In addition, Turkish banks provide a number of services related to mortgages, credit loans, international transfers and payment of bills (water, gas, electricity, internet and mobile phones) among many other services.

Top 9 Banks in Turkey

1. Ziraat Bankasi

The Ziraat Bank of Turkey was established on November 20, 1863 by Ahmed Shafif and Medhat Pasha with the official approval of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
Ziraat Bank started out as a modest charitable fund to provide adequate support to the farmers, who constituted the majority of the population at the time, and due to their misery and hardship, they were in dire need of credit to improve their agricultural business.

Since there was no institutional financial structure that they could provide at the time, the creation of the Ziraat Bank was the ideal solution to ensure that farmers had access to financial credit to purchase basic equipment for agro-handicraft work.

State Ziraat Bank continues to develop its banking business and expand its range of services to become a bank serving all segments of society according to the goals set for each specific period.

Ziraat Bank is headquartered in the Altindağ district of the capital, Ankara. It has branches both inside and outside Turkey. It has 25,697 employees across all branches and headquarters.

Ziraat Bank is characterized by a large number of bank branches in all regions and districts of Turkey and the proliferation of ATMs in all corners of the city.

The banking system of this bank is characterized by being very flexible, making it easy to open bank accounts for all popular groups including students, workers, Turkish and foreign investors.

Opening bank accounts with Ziraat Bank has been in high demand in recent years, a bank that has gained huge popularity after introducing interest-free labor regime in its banking system.

2. Iş Bank

Turkish Labor Bank, known in Turkey as Türkiye İş Bankası, abbreviated as A.Ş, is one of the largest private banks in Turkey providing banking and business services. Founded in 1924 on behalf of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, it was the first bank of the Turkish Republic era.

According to the ranking published by the "Banker" magazine, the assets of the Turkish Labor Bank will reach 926.6 billion Turkish lira in 2021, ranking 181st in the world in terms of capital.

İş Bank provides comprehensive bank account services on both local and international levels. It cooperates with other banks in Germany, Georgia and Russia. The bank is headquartered in a tower block in the Levant district on the European side of Istanbul.

According to data released last year, the Turkish Labor Bank has 21 bank branches abroad, 1,195 branches in all Turkish states, 6,472 ATMs in various regions and districts, and has more than 22,000 manpower cadres.

3. Halk Bank

The People's Bank of Turkey, or Türkiye Halk Bankası, is an official government bank established on June 8, 1933 and started banking services on May 23, 1938, to provide easy and cheap credit to small and medium-sized enterprises. Provide middlemen and industrialists.

Halk Bank is one of the largest banks in the world, with 128.48 billion banking assets, ranking 159th in the world by the number of available assets.

4. Vakif Bank

Donation Bank of Turkey was established on January 11, 1954 in cooperation with other Turkish companies, with a capital of 50 million liras and is the second largest bank in Turkey by assets.

The Bank was established primarily to make the best use of the resources of the banking institution in accordance with the needs of economic development and to contribute to national savings through management methods based on judicious use of modern banking techniques.

Vakif Bank provides services both locally and internationally, especially with many branches in different states of Turkey and in different regions of the world such as New York, Erbil, Bahrain, Austria, Germany and Northern Cyprus.

5. Garanti BBVA

Social Security Bank, known in Turkey as Garanti BBVA, is a private bank established in Ankara on June 21, 1946. It is Turkey's second largest private bank with consolidated assets of $107 billion.

Garanti Bank is engaged in all areas of the banking industry, including businesses related to commercial companies, small and medium enterprises, payment systems and domestic and foreign investment banking services.

According to data released in 2020, the Social Security Bank has 884 branches in Turkey, seven branches in Cyprus, and one branch in Malta, bringing the number of social security banks abroad to eight.

In addition, the company has representative offices in Düsseldorf and Shanghai, 18,656 employees and 5,309 withdrawal centers, providing exemplary service to all 18.7 million customers.

6. Yapi-Kredi Bank

Yapi Kredi Bank, the first private bank founded by Kazım Taşkent in Istanbul in 1944, is the third largest private bank in Turkey with total assets of 780.8 billion lira in 2021, 804 branches and 15,000 employees in all regions of Turkey people employees.

7. Deniz Bank

Deniz Bank was owned by Russian billionaire Sberbank before being transferred to the United Arab Emirates' National Bank of Dubai in May 2018. Deniz Bank has a balance of 3.7% in the Turkish market and, in addition to its center and branches in Turkey, has two centers outside Turkey, notably in Germany and Austria.

8. Ak Bank

Akbank, a private bank established in Adana in January 1948 by a group of businessmen to finance cotton producers in the region, has nearly $94 billion in assets.

In the Global 500 Most Valuable Banking Brands Study conducted by Brand Finance in 2017, Akbank was named Turkey's Most Valuable Banking Brand for the 6th consecutive year, this great commercial value has placed Akbank in the list of the Global 500 Banks 94th.

The first Akbank branch opened on July 14, 1950 in the Sirkeci district of Istanbul, and then in 1954 the general manager of the bank moved to Istanbul.
In 1963, all banking transactions at AK Bank were automated and the bank's first foreign representative office was opened in Frankfurt, Germany.

Arab and Islamic Banks in Turkey

Islamic banks in Turkey rely on a strong and interest-free financial system, the main of which are:

1. Kuveyt Turk

Established in 1989, Kuveyt Turk Bank is a private financial institution conducting banking business in accordance with the principles established by Cabinet Decision No. 12/16/1983 and Cabinet Decision No. 831/7506.

The activities of private financial institutions were carried out in accordance with Cabinet decisions and statements by the Central Bank and the Minister of Finance until they were brought under the purview of the Banking Act in 1999.

62% of the capital of Kuveyt Türk Bank goes to the Kuwait Finance Corporation, 9% to the Kuwait National Social Security Corporation, 9% to the Islamic Development Bank, 18% to the General Directorate of Foundations and 2% to other partners.

It is worth noting that Kuwait Finance Corporation, with a 62% stake, is the largest shareholder of Kuwait Turkish Bank, a giant Kuwaiti financial institution with billions of dollars in capital and modern banking services that is one of the most promising banks. The world's free financial institution.

Since its establishment, Kuveyt Turk Bank has adopted the principle of interest-free banking, researched investment fields, provided depositors and merchants with modern, stable, reliable, high-quality, and fast services, and continuously trained employees to increase services provided to customers.

Kuveyt Türk Bank is the best bank in Turkey for foreigners. It prides itself on being able to provide fast and quality services to savers and investors, and it strives to use a variety of modern technologies to facilitate customer assessment and expedite their banking transactions.

2. AlBaraka Bank

AlBaraka Turkish Bank is one of the first Islamic private equity banks in Turkey established by Bahraini AlBaraka Group. Pursuant to the Banking Law No. 5411, the Bank started its banking and investment activities in 1985 under the name of AlBaraka Turkish Private Finance Corporation in the Umraniye area of ​​Istanbul, Asia.

The equity structure of AlBaraka Turkish Bank is 66.51% of foreign investment companies, consisting of AlBaraka Banking Group and Islamic Development Bank, 12.91% from local investors, and 20.57% from IPO.

In addition to providing banking and banking services to thousands of clients in Turkey and abroad, AlBaraka Bank is the official representative of several public and private entities providing social security services, private pension schemes and other related services.

According to 2020 figures, AlBaraka Turkish Bank has 236 branches across Turkey, in addition to two branches in Erbil and Baghdad, employing about 3,899 people.

The largest official partner of AlBaraka Bank in Turkey is AlBaraka Banking Group, an investment group providing financial and financial services in the Gulf, Middle East and North Africa region.

AlBaraka Turk Bank also provides foreign trade services (import, export and foreign exchange) with nearly 1000 banks in 80 countries around the world.

3. QNB Bank

Qatar Turkish Bank is one of the most famous Turkish banks under Qatar QNB Group, which was established on October 26, 1987 by Hosni Ozyegan with a capital of 4 million US dollars. It is headquartered in Sicily, one of the most prestigious areas in Istanbul, Europe. .

The main financier of Qatar Turkish Bank was Fiba Holding, whose ownership was subsequently transferred to the National Bank of Greece and subsequently sold to Qatari QNB Group for 2.7 billion euros in June 2016.

One of the most famous partners of Qatar Turkish Bank is QNB Finansfaktoring, which started operations on October 5, 2009 and is one of the youngest companies in the field of globalization.

Qatar Turkish Bank is one of the largest Arab banks in Turkey and one of the leading financial institutions in the Middle East and Africa, serving more than 1.5 million people in Turkey and 31 countries around the world through 515 branches and 11,882 employees in all distribution departments Customers provide services. Around the world.

Is There Online Banking in Turkey? What is the Most Famous?

In addition to the official Turkish banks, there are some online banks that offer limited banking services, such as:

1. Papara Turkish Online Banking

Papara e-Bank is a financial technology agency dedicated to creating a new banking experience by providing competitive and user-centric solutions that outperform traditional financial applications.

Papara Online Bank, one of the banks providing limited banking services in Turkey since 2016, obtained a license from the Banking Regulatory and Supervisory Agency in April 2016 as a legally operating electronic financial institution and achieved it by the end of its fourth year The Papara Bank team has 200 employees and serves millions of users.

An official member of MasterCard, Visa and Interbank Card Center, e-bank Papara has launched a prepaid card that is not approved by any official bank and bears the MasterCard logo for the first time in Turkey.

The Papara website offers many benefits to users, including obtaining discounts when purchasing from some websites, or benefiting from discounts when subscribing to certain packages such as movie-watching sites, as well as offers on YouTube promotion of up to half the value.

2. Payoneer

One of the e-banks that provide banking services is Pioneer Bank, a well-known digital money transfer platform in the United States, you can open an account linked with this bank in any country in the world and get a prepaid card with free home delivery.

Payoneer Bank provides comprehensive electronic financial services for global e-commerce activities such as: for example, collecting money online, requesting payment from customers, withdrawing funds by bank transfer or ATM, and paying suppliers.

3. Tosla e-Bank

Tosla e-Bank, part of Turkey's Akbank, creates a unique shopping experience by simplifying free transactions such as paying, sending and receiving money. Plus, it offers an edge over popular brands with campaigns full of possibilities.

How to Open a Bank Account Online in Turkey?

You can download the dedicated application via Google Play or visit their website on the Google page, follow the necessary instructions and download the necessary personal data files (first name, last name, email, mobile phone information, password and home address).

Documents Required to Open a Bank Account in Turkey

When downloading an e-banking application from the Google Play Store or visiting an official website via the Internet, you need to enter some personal information and upload some documents related to your identity and residence documents.

Conditions for Opening a Bank Account in Turkey

Electronic Turkish banks do not require additional conditions to open a bank account with them, but it is necessary to agree to the stipulated formal conditions to open a bank account with all the laws and provisions of Turkey.

The Most Important Turkish Banks for Investment and Development

There is a group of Turkish banks dedicated to investment and development, which is concerned with providing the necessary support from loans in many investment sectors, and among the most important development and investment banks:

• Türk Eximbank
• Türkiye Sınai Kalkınma Bankası
• İller Bankası
• Aktif Yatırım Bankası
• İstanbul Takasbank

Turkish banks for investment and development offer incentive loans to those wishing to invest in the field of industry in Turkey, aiming to attract foreign funds to Turkey and increase the productivity of industrial projects.