Card payments hit record high in Turkey

Payments made with credit cards, debit cards and prepaid cards in Turkey were realized at 181.6 billion Turkish Liras in the first week of August, marking this also an all-time high for one week, according to data released by the Central Bank.  

Total card payments in almost every category saw an increase, with the categories of services, food, education and stationary equipment marking the highest rise. Spending in only a few categories such as electronics and furniture marked a decrease.  

According to Duvar English, payments made with cards over the internet decreased by 2.1 billion liras compared to the week before and were realized at 57.3 billion liras.

Meanwhile, according to the data of the Interbank Card Center (BKM), the number of credit cards in Turkey is 108.3 million as of June, whereas this figure is 178.7 million for debit cards and 79.8 million for prepaid cards.