The regime in force for authorised institutions — and the four rules most often overlooked

What changed

There are two layers.

At the level of the Law, Law No. 7555 (2025) listed anew the activities for which a permit is mandatory. First on the list: buying and selling foreign currency for commercial purposes. In other words, the activity of authorised institutions (yetkili müessese) stands at the centre of the permit regime.

At the level of the Communiqué (tebliğ), the last comprehensive amendment dates from 12 October 2021. That amendment rewrote from scratch the rules on share transfers, changes of address and trade name, the operation of foreign currency purchase and sale accounts, the camera and video recording system, and the sanction article. Despite the time that has passed, these are still the rules most often overlooked in practice.

The four rules most often overlooked

USD 100. In every transaction exceeding this amount, the customer's Turkish identity number or passport number — for a legal entity, its tax identification number and certificate of authorisation (yetki belgesi) — is obtained and recorded on a per-transaction basis. It is often confused with the TRY 370,000 threshold of the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (Mali Suçları Araştırma Kurulu, MASAK); they are separate rules.

Prepaid cards. Identification is mandatory in all transactions involving prepaid cards, regardless of amount.

Eight years. Reconciliation statements of foreign currency accounts are retained electronically for eight years. The confirmation letter obtained from the bank for a disruption in a transfer, however, for five years.

What cannot be done. Credit card transactions, instalments and accepting items for safekeeping are not permitted; forward transactions may be carried out only in their own name and for their own account, and only with banks.

Basis

Law No. 1567 on the Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency (1567 sayılı Türk Parasının Kıymetini Koruma Hakkında Kanun), Article 4 (amended: 20 July 2025, Law No. 7555) · Communiqué on Authorised Institutions (2018-32/45), Articles 4, 20, 21 and 23 · last comprehensive amendment: Official Gazette of 12 October 2021, No. 31626 · the wording USD 100: Official Gazette of 18 November 2021, No. 31663 · retention of camera recordings for 2 years: Official Gazette of 6 March 2025, No. 32833

Entry into force

The Law amendment has been in force since 24 July 2025, and the last comprehensive amendment of the Communiqué since 12 October 2021. Neither is time-limited.

Who is affected

Authorised institutions · their branches · cashiers · internal control officers

What to do

Add these four headings to your internal control checklist. All four are the items looked at first in an inspection, the easiest to detect and the hardest to defend.

Related page: Foreign Exchange Legislation