Hi everyone -- I am going to turkey tomorrow but i would like to know if anyone can tell me if visa electron cards are accepted!! my owm bank in england have not got a clue , the travel agents were unsure and i do not want to be in turkey and not be able to use this card!!!!

no problem

Cash points everywhere and most have English as an option to view screen in.

But you will have limit of about 300 YTL per day

thank you -- bit surprised by the amont tho -- it is £200 in england -- also do the shops take these cards???

What is the difference between a visa electron card and a visa card? Because with my visa card my limit per day is 1350 YTL.

I think you can get a max of 300YTL per day with a normal bank card, but with visa you can get a lot more! (What if something terrible happens? You must be able to get some money!).

I remember that last year we were able to get 500YTL with our normal bank card in Alanya.. but that might've changed.

Anyway, you can use your visa card all over the world, so don't worry .

Just spoke with my other half and she says that it is the ATM you use that puts different limits on.

If it is a busy machine it gives you less than a not so busy one, but you can go to a different machine and withdraw more than 300 YTL or more than one.

Trust a woman to know that.

Not that we have ever needed more than 300 though so not sure of daily limit.

But sorry for that wrong information

Dear Elaineallison,

Have a great trip! When I came to Turkey this summer, I had only $150 USD, and my Mastercard ATM, (Which, (at the JFK airport), I discovered I left IN THE machine in Philadelphia.

No card- no money for 30 days. Fortunately, my USA bank DSL'd me a new card in only 3 days to my Ankara hotel.

This was the first time I never took traveler's cheques, as I was told they were too difficult to use.

A few cautions:

1. Call your bank and tell them you will be in Turkey w/ xx dates.

2. Ask them to remove your limit on ATM withdrawls (mine was $300 USD per day

3. Have a back up plan! hidden cash or traveler's cheques. Although merchants don't typically accept them, large banks will cash them.

4. Good luck!

Regards,
Christine

thanks everyone!!!
the difference between a visa and visa electron is that electron is a debit card only
you can not use it to guarantee cheques and if you have no money in your account you can not use it -- i.e. you can not go overdrawn with it.

also can debit cards be used in shops?

YES! The debit card I used had only the "mastercard logo", and worked for me everywhere in Turkey, Africa, and India...

As long as the cash is in the account, I have experienced that it is accepted.

Caution: write down every transaction, as on rare occasions (none in my personal experience) there is credit card theft- merchants write down and reuse numbers for purchases.

This is not a problem with a credit card as unauthorized purchases are voided, but with a debit card it is more difficult to reclaim your money.

I always withdraw cash from an ATM , and pay in cash to avoid the circulation of my bank card number.

Good luck, and have a great trip!
Chrisitne