Recent Developments
The Communiqué Amending the Communiqué (No. 2020/16) (the “Communiqué”) on Maximum Interest Rates Applicable to Credit Card Transactions (No. 2024/22) (the “Amendment Communiqué”) entered into force after being published in the Official Gazette dated 27 September 2024. You can access the Amendment Communiqué here.
In addition, the Banking Regulatory and Supervisory Authority introduced important regulations regarding the restructuring of retail credit card debts and consumer loans with its decision dated 26 September 2024 and numbered 10972 (the “BRSA Decision”). You can access the relevant BRSA Decision here.
What’s new under the Amendment Communiqué?
Pursuant to the Amendment Communiqué, the maximum monthly contractual interest rate to be applied to Turkish lira-denominated retail credit card transactions will be determined gradually by considering the amount of the current debt for the period. Accordingly, the maximum monthly contractual interest rates for credit card transactions will be calculated by adding the following rates to the monthly reference rate (“Reference Rate”), which is calculated and announced in accordance with the Communiqué (No. 2020/4) on the Procedures and Principles Regarding Fees that Banks Can Charge Corporate Clients.
| Transaction Type | Current Debt (CD) Amount | Maximum Interest Rate |
| Retail credit card (TRY) | a. CD < TRY 25,000 | Reference Rate + 39 basis point |
| b. TRY 25,000 < CD < TRY 150,000 | Reference Rate + 114 basis point | |
| c. TRY 150,000 < CD | Reference Rate + 164 basis point | |
| Corporate credit card (TRY) | – | Reference Rate + 164 basis point |
| Credit card cash withdrawal or use (TRY) | – | Reference Rate + 189 basis point (1) |
| Credit card (FX) | – | (1) x 70% (rounded to two decimal places) |
What’s new under the BRSA Decision?
As of the date of the BRSA Decision, outstanding debt balances of retail credit cards whose minimum payment due for the current debt has not been paid can be restructured, if requested by the cardholders, by adding the installment amount for each month to the minimum payment of the relevant month, limited to a maximum of sixty months. If any payment is made in respect of the period debt in the restructuring, it will first be deducted from the restructuring installment.
The credit card limit allocated to the cardholder cannot be increased until 50% of the restructuring debt is paid.
If the restructuring amount exceeds the credit card limit, the excess amount will not be considered as an overdraft.
Debt balances of consumer loans extended before the date of the BRSA Decision, and whose principal and/or interest payments are more than thirty days overdue as of the date of the BRSA Decision, may be restructured without additional credit extension, limited to a maximum of sixty months, if requested by the debtor within one year from the date of the BRSA Decision.
Transition process
The rates calculated in accordance with the Amendment Communiqué will be announced by the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye on 24 October 2024 and will be effective as of 1 November 2024. The rates in effect before the Amendment Communiqué will continue to apply until the effective date of these rates.
Pursuant to the BRSA Decision, the monthly contractual interest rate to be applied in the restructuring of credit card debts will not exceed the Reference Rate. The maximum monthly default interest rate to apply in these transactions will be the highest default interest rate provided under the Communiqué.
