Icmeler Online Holiday Forum & Reviews - Turkey

Hi everyone, just back from a fabulous holiday in Icmeler. Met some really great people and looking to see them again next year! - One of the subjects that came up was the brilliant interest you can earn on opening a Turkish bank account. Apparently, you don't have to be resident in Turkey and all you need is a tax code. Once your set up, everything can be done online. Does anyone else know about this and what procedure is required?

Many thanks. - Jane

we have an online account with garanti bank, although you had to be in turkey to set it up. We get a 19% interest rate which after you take into account the tax gives you a net amount of about 15.5%.

Hi guys. This looks really interesting. Has anyone got a web link that I could use. Do I need my U.K. tax code or do they give you one over there? What documents do I need? Help!

If you go to www.garantibank.com and click on turkey at the top, then banking, then interest rates, it gives you information. Its the YTL accounts that give the best interest.
The couple who live next door to our apartment sold their uk house and deposited £100k, they earn £20'000 interest per annum, and it costs them approx £5000 per annum to rent their villa, and they live off of the rest.

Sounds great on paper but dont forget the inflation rate in Turkey runs at about 12% so not as good as it seems.

Thanks for all your replies - will check out the bank website. Can you just hold a Uk address or do you have to be resident in Turkey? Going back next year and will probably set up an account if not too difficult. - Jane.

This just seems to good to be true anyone else got any experience of this?

I think you might have to actually own a property to open the account. we had to open ours anyway to pay electric/water bills etc and was told about the savings accounts then. Although our neighbours there rent, they used to own a house there but decided it was more benificial to sell and rent a place and take advantage of the interest rates.

we have had a bank account for 2 years with Yepi Credi and even though we go in each year to say can you access the account on the net and use the card in England it still does not work when we get home, we asked a turkish friend living over here what to do about the account and she said inflation is so hi not to put large amounts of money it it as we might lose it, but we are going to close it down anyway as we cannot access the account