A bank account is the point where company formation, tax registration, payroll and cross-border payments all meet. It is also the step where foreign investors lose the most time, because the requirements are set by three different layers of rules: banking regulation, anti-money-laundering legislation, and each bank’s own risk policy. This guide explains all three, for individuals and for companies, with the legal basis stated for every requirement.
Individuals: a foreign national can open a personal account with a passport, a Turkish tax number and verification of an address. A residence permit is not a statutory condition — the regulation accepts a passport — but banks may still require one under their own risk policy.
Companies: a company incorporated in Turkey opens its account after registration with the trade registry and tax office. A joint stock company must first pay a quarter of its cash capital into a special blocked account of the company in formation. A foreign company with no Turkish entity can also open an account, using apostilled corporate documents with certified translations.
Both: identification is mandatory regardless of amount whenever an account is opened, the beneficial owner behind the customer must be identified, and remote onboarding by video call is legally available — including for legal entities.
What are the numbers that decide the process?
Who regulates bank accounts in Turkey?
Four bodies shape what a branch officer asks you for. Knowing which rule sits behind a request tells you whether it can be discussed or not: statutory requirements are fixed, bank policy requirements are negotiable between institutions.
| Source | What it governs | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Banking Law No. 5411 and the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency | Licensing of banks, banking services, fees, dormant accounts, secrecy of customer information | Sets the outer boundary of what a bank may offer and charge, and the framework each bank turns into internal policy |
| Law No. 5549 and the Regulation on Measures Regarding Prevention of Laundering Proceeds of Crime and Financing of Terrorism | Customer identification, address verification, beneficial ownership, monitoring, refusal of business relationships | The single most important source in practice: almost every document requested at account opening traces back to it |
| Regulation on Remote Identification Methods to be Used by Banks | Video-call onboarding, chip reading of identity documents, electronic conclusion of contracts | Makes account opening without a branch visit legally possible, within limits each bank applies differently |
| Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey and Decree No. 32 on the Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency | Foreign currency accounts, cross-border transfers, export proceeds, currency of contracts between residents | Determines what you may do with the account once it exists, particularly for foreign-owned companies |
Which route applies to you?
Can a foreigner open a personal account without a residence permit?
Legally, yes. For customers who are not Turkish nationals, the Regulation on Measures allows identity to be verified through a passport, a residence document, or another identity document approved by the Ministry. A residence permit is one accepted option, not the only one.
What the regulation does insist on is address verification when a continuous business relationship is established. The address may be confirmed through a residence certificate, a utility bill for electricity, water, natural gas or telephone issued in the customer’s name within the previous three months, a document from any public authority, or another method approved by the Financial Crimes Investigation Board. This single provision explains most of the friction non-residents experience: the passport is rarely the problem, the address is.
What the law requires
- Passport or residence document
- Name, date of birth, nationality, address, occupation and signature specimen
- Verified address at the time the relationship starts
- Written statement on whether you act for another person
- Information on the purpose and nature of the relationship
What banks add on top
- A residence permit, as an internal risk rule
- A Turkish mobile line registered in your own name, for one-time passwords
- Evidence of the reason for banking in Turkey, such as a title deed, share ownership or employment
- Source-of-funds explanations for larger opening balances
Practical routes if a branch refuses
- Approach a branch with an international customer desk rather than a neighbourhood branch
- Bring documentary proof of the purpose, for example a property purchase or a shareholding
- Use a bank where you already have a group relationship abroad
- Open the account through a representative holding a notarised power of attorney
Refusal is a regulated outcome, not a discretionary one. Where a bank cannot identify the customer or obtain sufficient information about the purpose of the relationship, the regulation requires it to decline the relationship and refuse the transaction. Anonymous or fictitious-name accounts are prohibited outright. A refusal is therefore rarely about nationality; it is about a gap in the file.
How do you get a Turkish tax number?
No bank will open an account without one. There are two numbers in circulation and they are not interchangeable in every system.
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If you hold a residence permit, you already have one
Residence permit holders are issued an eleven-digit foreign identity number beginning with 99. For most banking and tax purposes this number functions as the tax identification number, so a separate application is unnecessary.
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If you do not, apply online for a potential tax number
The Revenue Administration issues a ten-digit potential tax number through its digital tax office, at dijital.gib.gov.tr. You enter your passport details, upload an image of the passport page and add contact details; the number is generated immediately.
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Attend the tax office only if the online check fails
Tax offices now accept counter applications mainly where the online verification of passport data does not succeed. In that case the passport, or a notarised copy, is presented in person.
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For a company, the number follows the registration file
A company in formation obtains a tax number through the registry and tax office process, and the definitive number is confirmed when the tax office completes its registration inspection after incorporation.
A potential tax number does not create tax liability. It is an identifier that allows banking, property and administrative transactions. Whether you become a taxpayer in Turkey depends on residence and source-of-income rules, which are explained in our guide to income tax in Turkey.
What documents does a personal account require?
| Item | Detail | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Identity document | Passport for foreign nationals; residence document also accepted | Regulation on Measures, identification of natural persons |
| Tax number | Foreign identity number or potential tax number | Tax Procedure Law and banking practice |
| Address verification | Residence certificate, utility bill dated within three months, or public authority document | Regulation on Measures, address verification at the start of the relationship |
| Contact details | Telephone number and e-mail; accuracy may be tested by contacting you | Regulation on Measures, monitoring of customer information |
| Signature specimen | Taken at the branch, or captured electronically in remote onboarding | Regulation on Measures |
| Declaration on acting for others | Written statement that you open the account for yourself and not for a third party | Law No. 5549 and the Regulation on Measures |
| Tax residence self-certification | Declaration of countries of tax residence for automatic exchange of information | Common Reporting Standard framework |
| Purpose of the relationship | Expected use of the account and, for larger balances, source of funds | Regulation on Measures, information on purpose and nature |
Which account types are available?
| Type | Typical use | Points to check before opening |
|---|---|---|
| Current account in Turkish lira | Salary, rent, utilities, everyday payments, tax and social security payments | Card issuance, mobile banking language options, transfer limits |
| Foreign currency account | Receiving funds from abroad, holding balances in major currencies | Conversion spreads, transaction taxes on currency purchases, incoming transfer fees |
| Time deposit | Placing balances for a fixed term in lira or foreign currency | Withholding tax on interest varies by term and currency |
| Participation account | Profit-and-loss sharing alternative offered by participation banks | Return is not guaranteed in advance; deposit insurance applies on the same basis |
| Precious metals account | Holding gold or other metals in account form | Buying and selling spreads; conversion rules on withdrawal |
| Investment account | Securities transactions linked to a bank or brokerage | Separate agreements and suitability tests are required |
Can an account be opened remotely, without travelling to Turkey?
Remote onboarding has a proper legal basis. The Regulation on Remote Identification Methods to be Used by Banks entered into force in 2021 and allows a bank to identify a customer through a video call conducted by trained personnel, after an electronic application form and a risk assessment. Where the risk assessment is negative, the process is terminated before the call begins. The identity document is examined for its security features, and the contractual relationship is then concluded electronically.
The scope was widened in 2023. Amendments effective from 1 June 2023 extended remote identification to legal entities, by identifying the natural person or persons authorised to represent the entity and verifying that authority; where more than one representative exists, verification may take place at different times. The corresponding communiqué amendment of August 2023 added legal entities registered with the trade registry to the definition of customer, completing the framework.
Where remote onboarding usually works
Holders of a Turkish identity card or a residence permit card with a chip, applying through the bank’s own mobile application, with a Turkish mobile line in their own name.
Where it usually does not
A non-resident holding only a passport, applying from abroad. The framework permits identification, but many banks restrict the channel to chip-based documents and domestic mobile lines.
The alternative to travel
A notarised and apostilled power of attorney allowing a representative to open the account and sign banking agreements. Banks review the wording closely, so the powers must be specific.
When can a company open its account, and what must happen first?
A company cannot hold an operating account before it exists. What can exist earlier is a blocked capital account in the name of the company in formation, and only for a joint stock company.
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Prepare the articles of association and reserve the trade name
The articles are prepared through the central trade registry system, the activity codes are selected and the registered address is documented.
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Obtain a tax number for the company in formation
This number allows the bank to open the special capital account and allows the registry file to proceed.
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Joint stock company only: pay in a quarter of the cash capital
Under the Turkish Commercial Code, at least one quarter of the nominal value of shares subscribed in cash must be paid before registration, and the remainder within twenty-four months. The payment goes into a special account opened at a bank in the name of the company in formation, and the bank releases the funds only to the company against the registry letter confirming legal personality. If legal personality is not acquired within three months of notarisation of the articles, the amounts are returned to the subscribers. A limited liability company has no pay-in requirement before registration; its capital is payable within twenty-four months.
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Pay the Competition Authority share and complete registration
An amount equal to 0.04% of the capital is paid to the Competition Authority through the chamber, alongside registration and notarisation costs.
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Complete tax office registration after incorporation
The tax office carries out its registration inspection and issues the tax registration document. Most banks ask to see it before opening the operating account.
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Open the operating account and release the blocked funds
The corporate file is submitted, the representatives are identified in person or remotely, and the blocked capital is transferred to the operating account.
Two accounts, two purposes. The capital account exists to prove payment to the registry and is frozen until incorporation. The operating account is the one that receives customer collections, pays salaries and settles taxes. Treating the capital account as a working account is a frequent cause of delay at the registry stage.
What documents does a corporate account require?
| Document | Company in Turkey | Branch of a foreign company | Liaison office | Foreign company, no Turkish entity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trade registry certificate and registry gazette announcement | Required | Required | Ministry permit instead | Home-country equivalent, apostilled |
| Articles of association | Required | Parent company articles | Parent company articles | Apostilled with certified translation |
| Tax registration document and tax number | Required | Required | Required | Tax number obtained for the foreign entity |
| Notarised signature circular of representatives | Required | Required | Required | Apostilled signature and authority documents |
| Identity documents of representatives | Required | Required | Required | Required |
| Beneficial owner identification above 25% shareholding | Required | Required | Required | Required |
| Ownership chain documents for corporate shareholders above 25% | Required | Required | Required | Required |
| Board resolution or power of attorney authorising the account opening | Required | Required | Required | Apostilled resolution |
| Apostille or consular certification with certified translation | Only for foreign-sourced documents | Required | Required | Required |
| Declaration on acting for others and on the purpose of the relationship | Required | Required | Required | Required |
The regulation also obliges financial institutions to confirm that the registry documents presented to them are current and accurate, by consulting the trade registry records or the chambers’ database. Documents that were issued months earlier and no longer reflect the current management are a common reason for a file being returned.
How the bank looks at ownership and control
First test: the 25% rule
For entities registered with the trade registry, natural person shareholders holding more than 25% are identified as beneficial owners, and corporate shareholders above the same level are identified as legal entities.
Second test: ultimate control
Where no shareholder exceeds 25%, or where the shareholder above 25% is suspected not to be the real beneficiary, the bank must identify the natural person or persons who ultimately control the entity.
Fallback: senior management
If neither test produces a result, the natural person with the highest executive authority recorded in the trade registry is treated as the beneficial owner in that capacity.
Foreign shareholders
For corporate shareholders resident abroad, the identity information may be verified through the open records of the equivalent chamber organisation or the official register in that country.
What about branches, liaison offices and foreign companies with no entity here?
Branch of a foreign company
A branch is registered with the trade registry and holds its own tax number, so it opens accounts in its own name. The parent company’s documents still enter the file, because the beneficial ownership analysis runs through the parent. See our page on establishing a branch in Turkey.
Liaison office
A liaison office may not carry out commercial activity, and its expenses must be met with foreign currency transferred from abroad. Its account is therefore fed by the parent rather than by local income, and this pattern also underpins the payroll tax exemption available to its staff. See establishing a liaison office in Turkey.
Foreign company with no presence
Identification of a legal entity resident abroad is carried out on the documents corresponding to those required for a Turkish entity, certified by a Turkish consulate or bearing an apostille, with certified translations where needed. Used for property purchases, capital injections and one-off transactions.
What can you do with the account once it is open?
For a foreign-owned company, the account is where currency regulation becomes visible. The four questions below cover most of what is asked in the first year of operations.
Bringing capital in
Funds should arrive in the company’s own name with a clear payment description. Amounts received before a capital increase is registered are treated as a capital advance and must follow the conditions in the currency legislation. Foreign direct investment notifications to the Ministry are separate from the banking process and remain due.
Sending money out
Banks ask for the underlying documentation before executing cross-border payments: invoices, contracts, and for treaty withholding rates, a certificate of tax residence. Dividend distributions require the corporate resolutions and evidence that withholding has been accounted for.
Invoicing in foreign currency
Decree No. 32 restricts the use of foreign currency in contracts between parties resident in Turkey for defined contract types, with published exceptions. This affects pricing and invoicing decisions before it ever affects the bank account.
Export proceeds
Export proceeds must be brought into Turkey within 180 days of actual export as a maximum. A share of the proceeds converted under the relevant currency purchase document is sold to the intermediary bank and on to the Central Bank; the ratio is set by a temporary provision of the Export Circular, is extended periodically, and should be confirmed against the circular in force on the transaction date.
Which obligations follow you after the account is open?
Never let a third party collect through your account
Where collections for goods or services are made through an account or in a name belonging to someone else, a special irregularity penalty of 10% of each transaction is imposed on both sides, capped at TRY 20 million per calendar year. Collections through card systems or devices registered to another taxpayer attract triple the fixed penalty within the same cap.
The criminal dimension
A person who acts in their own name but on another’s account, without declaring in writing to the institution whose account is being used, faces imprisonment from six months to one year or a judicial fine under Law No. 5549.
Payments above TRY 30,000
Collections and payments exceeding this figure must pass through banks, payment institutions or the postal administration and be evidenced by their documents. The threshold was raised from TRY 7,000 with effect from 30 November 2024. Failure attracts a special irregularity penalty of 5% of the transaction on each party.
Payments that must use a bank whatever the amount
Rental payments and certain sector-specific transactions, such as vehicle rental, must be made through financial institutions with no lower limit. Employers with five or more employees must pay wages, bonuses and similar entitlements through banks.
Information exchange
Banks collect a tax residence self-certification and report account information for reportable persons under the automatic exchange of information framework. Providing an incorrect residence declaration creates problems in the residence country rather than in Turkey.
Dormancy
Deposits, participation funds and other holdings that have not been subject to any transaction for ten years are transferred to the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund under the Banking Law. Companies that leave a legacy account untouched during a restructuring are the usual victims of this rule.
What does it cost, and what is protected?
Fees. Charges to individuals are constrained by the regulation on fees payable by financial consumers, which defines the categories a bank may charge and prohibits others. Charges to commercial customers are governed by the Central Bank communiqué on fees collected from commercial customers, which caps defined fee categories. Corporate accounts should therefore expect account maintenance, statement, transfer and card fees within those published categories, and are entitled to a fee schedule on request.
Deposit insurance. For 2026 the insured amount is TRY 1,200,000 per depositor per credit institution, covering principal and accrued interest across Turkish lira, foreign currency and precious metal accounts at domestic branches. Since the amendment of August 2022 the scope is no longer limited to natural persons: accounts other than those belonging to official institutions, credit institutions and financial institutions are within cover, so company deposits are protected up to the same ceiling. The amount is increased each calendar year in line with the revaluation rate.
Excluded from cover. Deposits belonging to the bank’s own controlling or qualified shareholders, to entities they control, and to its board members and senior management and their close family remain outside the insurance, as do holdings connected to laundering offences.
Why are applications refused or accounts frozen?
Identification cannot be completed
Missing address verification, an unverifiable ownership chain, or documents without apostille or certified translation. The regulation obliges the bank to decline rather than to proceed on trust.
Jurisdiction and sanctions exposure
Business relationships involving countries designated as risky require special attention and additional information gathering. Group structures with entities in such countries take longer even when the Turkish company is straightforward.
Activity does not match the profile
Banks monitor whether transactions are consistent with the declared occupation, commercial activity, financial standing and source of funds. A newly formed company receiving unexplained volume is the classic trigger for enhanced measures.
Stale authority documents
Expired representation authority or a signature circular that no longer matches the registry blocks payments immediately. Update the bank on every change of directors, address or shareholding.
How long does it take?
| Scenario | Typical duration | What drives the timing |
|---|---|---|
| Individual, complete file, at a branch | The same day | Address verification and card issuance |
| Individual, remote onboarding | Same day to a few days | Chip-based document, domestic mobile line, risk assessment outcome |
| Company incorporated in Turkey with local shareholders | One to three business days after tax registration | Availability of representatives, registry documents |
| Company with foreign corporate shareholders | One to three weeks | Apostilles, translations, ownership chain verification, compliance approval |
| Foreign company with no Turkish entity | Two to six weeks | Document certification abroad and enhanced due diligence |
Frequently asked questions
Is a residence permit legally required to open a personal account?
No. For customers who are not Turkish nationals, identity may be verified through a passport, a residence document or another identity document approved by the Ministry. Address verification, however, is required when a continuous business relationship is established, and individual banks may add a residence permit requirement as internal policy.
Can a company open an account before it is registered?
Only a blocked capital account, and only for a joint stock company. At least one quarter of the cash capital is paid into a special account opened in the name of the company in formation, and the bank releases it to the company against the registry letter confirming legal personality. If legal personality is not acquired within three months of notarisation of the articles, the funds are returned to the subscribers.
Does a limited liability company need to block capital at a bank?
No. There is no obligation to pay in capital before registration for a limited liability company; the subscribed capital is payable within twenty-four months following registration. The 0.04% Competition Authority share is still paid at the registration stage.
Can a legal entity be onboarded remotely?
Yes in principle. Amendments effective 1 June 2023 opened remote identification to legal entities by identifying and verifying the authority of the representatives, and the accompanying communiqué amendment of August 2023 added trade registry registered legal entities to the definition of customer. Availability still depends on each bank’s own product design.
Which threshold triggers identification if I do not open an account?
Identification applies to a single transaction, or to linked transactions in aggregate, at or above TRY 185,000. For electronic transfers the information threshold is TRY 15,000. Suspicious transactions require identification regardless of amount.
Who counts as the beneficial owner of a company?
Natural person shareholders holding more than 25% of a company registered with the trade registry. Where no such shareholder exists, or where doubt arises, the natural persons ultimately controlling the entity are identified; failing that, the person with the highest executive authority recorded in the registry is treated as beneficial owner in that capacity.
Can a foreign company open an account without setting up in Turkey?
Yes. Identification is carried out on the documents corresponding to those required for a Turkish entity, certified by a Turkish consulate or bearing an apostille under the Hague Convention, with certified Turkish translations where the risk-based approach requires them.
Are company deposits covered by deposit insurance?
Yes. Since the amendment of August 2022 the cover extends beyond natural persons to accounts other than those of official institutions, credit institutions and financial institutions. For 2026 the insured amount is TRY 1,200,000 per depositor per credit institution, across Turkish lira, foreign currency and precious metal accounts.
What happens if group collections are received into a related company’s account?
Where collections for goods or services are made through an account or name belonging to another party, a special irregularity penalty of 10% of each transaction applies to both parties, capped at TRY 20 million per calendar year. Card collections through devices registered to another taxpayer attract triple the fixed penalty within the same cap.
Which payments must go through a bank?
Collections and payments above TRY 30,000 in general, following the increase effective 30 November 2024, with a special irregularity penalty of 5% of the transaction for each party in breach. Rental payments and certain sector transactions must use financial institutions with no lower limit, and employers with five or more employees must pay wages through banks.
How long must the bank keep my documents?
Eight years. For identification records the period runs from the date of the last transaction, and for records relating to an account it runs from the date the account is closed.
What happens to an account that is never used?
Deposits, participation funds and other holdings with no transaction for ten years are transferred to the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund under the Banking Law, following the announcement procedure set out in that legislation.
Will my account information be reported to my home country?
If you are tax resident in a jurisdiction participating in the automatic exchange of information, account details are reported through the framework applicable to that jurisdiction. Banks collect a self-certification of tax residence at account opening for this purpose.
Can the bank close an existing account?
Yes. Where identification and verification cannot be completed because of doubt about the adequacy or accuracy of previously obtained customer information, the regulation requires the business relationship to be terminated, and the institution separately assesses whether the situation constitutes a suspicious transaction.
Primary sources
- Law No. 5549 on Prevention of Laundering Proceeds of Crime and the Regulation on Measures Regarding Prevention of Laundering Proceeds of Crime and Financing of Terrorism (Council of Ministers Decision No. 2007/13012)
- Financial Crimes Investigation Board — regulations and general communiqués, including General Communiqué No. 19 and its amendments
- Regulation on Remote Identification Methods to be Used by Banks and on Establishment of Contractual Relationships in Electronic Environment, published 1 April 2021 and amended with effect from 1 June 2023
- Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102, provisions on payment of share capital and the special bank account of the company in formation
- Tax Procedure Law No. 213, repeated Article 355, and General Communiqués No. 459, 572 and 575 on documenting collections and payments
- Regulation on Deposits and Participation Funds Subject to Insurance and Premiums to be Collected by the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund, and Fund Board decision setting the 2026 insured amount
- Decree No. 32 on the Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency and the Central Bank Export Circular
- Revenue Administration digital tax office — potential tax number application for foreign nationals
Working through this for a new entity?
We prepare the corporate file banks ask for, coordinate apostilles and certified translations, handle the capital account and registration sequence, and set up the tax and payroll registrations that follow. Related pages: company formation in Turkey, branch registration, employer of record.
Contact us to discuss your structure.
