“Mir cards in Turkey are coming to an end”

Russian diplomats in Turkey reported no problems with Mir cards. They said that there were no complaints from tourists. However, the stories that Russians share in chats say otherwise: it looks like they will have to say goodbye to Mir cards in Turkey. We spoke to travelers who described their travails.

Most conversations in Turkish chats, where Russians share their impressions of the trip, come down to one thing: you can no longer pay with the Mir card, you can’t withdraw money from ATMs.

“Guys, I’ve been writing for three days, posting screenshots from Turkish news, and I hear from many: don’t condense, everything is super. Not great. If you are still staying in Turkey for a while, shoot as much as possible. And who is going to fly here, buy dollars and lira in advance,” commented one of the netizens.

Another message follows: “I have a problem – for the second day I can’t withdraw money anywhere. And when I was flying here, I was convinced that it was more profitable to withdraw from the Mir card than to carry dollars. Now I’m waiting for my acquaintances to fly in with cash, to borrow the necessary amount for me so that I can pay for the hotel. ”

We contacted the tourists and asked to share their observations.

Kristina: “We flew to Istanbul on September 10th and everything went fine. We paid from morning to night with a Mir card. There were many shops and restaurants where it was possible to pay in cash or with a Mir card.

The problems started on September 15th. On the morning of that day, we withdrew money without problems, and in the evening we could not even buy gum. The next day, many expensive boutiques stopped accepting cash, and it became impossible to pay with any cards issued in Russia, be it Mir or a card from the Chinese UnionPay payment system.

As far as I understand, new rules have appeared in Turkey, which operate as follows: Turkish banks that cooperate with the Americans have introduced restrictions on operations with Russian cards. As a result, it turns out that the conditional Denizbank allows you to conduct transactions for one million lira per day. If this million spun until 10 am, then the money in ATMs ends. Therefore, in the afternoon, people cannot withdraw lira at any ATM, and you cannot pay with a card in stores that work through this bank.

Tourists have noticed that only in the mornings can they withdraw small amounts. Moreover, banks have set a hard limit on cash withdrawals from Russian cards. It is impossible to withdraw more than 7500 thousand rubles. After lunch, there is practically no chance of withdrawing money. For example, in the same store I paid with a card in the morning, but not in the evening.

Plus added excitement. Russians, like crazy, rush about in search of ATMs and withdraw lira in reserve. Sometimes you walk down the street, you see a crowd near the ATM. You come up, and these are our poor fellows trying many times to withdraw at least some amount.

People are shocked. Well, it’s not possible to pay for the purchase, but when there is no way to check into a hotel, because the card does not work or it is not possible to withdraw cash, this is a real problem.

Now it is more profitable to come to Turkey with dollars. Or master the system of fast payments in order to transfer money to yourself.

Vladimir: “Our story is simple to disgrace – the card was eaten by an ATM. Many tourists have recently had a problem with this – ATMs either do not issue money or “swallow” cards. We got out. Through the telegram chat, they found a girl who agreed to help. She withdrew 5000 lire from her foreign card, we bought the currency from her.”

Elena: “I spent the whole day looking for an ATM with money. Recently, all Russian tourists do nothing but rush around the city in search of ATMs. In the chats of Antalya, there were many offers from local residents who are ready to exchange lira for rubles. Their exchange rate is not the best. But things are not very good with exchangers in Turkey, they are reluctant to accept rubles.

I would advise now not to take risks and not to go to Turkey with a single card, without backup options. You must bring dollars with you.

If you only have Mir with you and you are lucky to find an ATM, you need to withdraw as much cash as possible, do not count on paying by card, chasing a penny profit when converting.

Maksim: “Yesterday I went around all the ATMs. To no avail. You can exchange money in exchange offices, but no one needs rubles now. By the way, at the airport it was also not possible to withdraw money from the Mir card. It looks like Mir cards are slowly coming to an end in Turkey.”