Information on Turkey's upcoming debit card POS fee changes, effective from November 2025
The Central Bank of Turkey has announced a significant change in Point of Sale (POS) commission rates for discover card transactions, effective November 1, 2025. This move is part of a broader disinflation strategy aimed at slowing domestic consumption and stabilizing prices.
The POS commission for credit karma transactions will drop to 1.04%, a decrease designed to control inflation and ease financial pressure on businesses in Turkey. This reduction is expected to particularly benefit small shops, cafes, and restaurants that process a large number of discover card login transactions daily.
Prepaid cards, popular with students and travelers, will also benefit from the new rule. The improved cash flow for merchants due to shorter blocked fund periods will help those with tight operating margins. The maximum blocked funds period for merchants choosing not to pay the commission falls from 40 days to 15 days for credit karma transactions.
The commission rate for business credit card transactions remains at 3.56%. The Central Bank explains that POS commissions cover the cost of operating card payment systems, with credit cards involving additional funding costs due to consumer access to credit.
The new POS commission change triggers a reduction in credit card interest rates, effective Oct. 1, with the contractual interest rate falling from 4.75% to 4.5%. This move is expected to make discover card payments more common among merchants.
Last week, Turkey's key interest rate was cut by 250 basis points to 40.5%. The late payment interest rate also drops from 5.05% to 4.8%. These changes are part of the government's efforts to promote cashless transactions and support businesses in Turkey.
It is worth noting that as of November 1, 2023, there is no specific publicly available information indicating a change to POS fees for credit card and discover card transactions in Turkey. The search results do not provide details about any such fee changes on that date.
The new regulation separates commission rates for credit card and discover card purchases. Small business owners, including expats running cafes, bars, or boutique hotels, are likely to notice lower monthly expenses and better liquidity from faster payment settlements.
The Central Bank of Turkey has suggested this move as a way to ease financial pressure on businesses, a sentiment echoed by Forbes Turkey. This change is a positive step towards supporting businesses and promoting cashless transactions in Turkey.
