Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

Just went to withdraw Sterling from TEB ATM and was charged £8.40 for withdrawing £400. I know a lot of banks are but are all the ATM's now charging for Sterling withdrawals and is this the standard rate?

I don't know, but 2.1% seems an odd amount!

Possibly a fix charge in TRY converted to GBP

Regards Mike T

I have just been looking at Moneysavingexpert.com and, following one of the recommendations, contacted a currency transfer company called Azimo - https://azimo.com I chatted on-line with one of the reps and it seems as though for 0.99 euros per transaction, I can transfer money to my TRNC Bank. Seems a bit too good to be true. Has anyone tried this company?

"I don't know, but 2.1% seems an odd amount!"

Just checked my account, after a withdrawal earlier today,
2.1% is what I was charged for using TEB ATM for Sterling.

For info. Check them out

https://www.monito.com/en/send-money-with/azimo

Read to the end

https://moneytransfercomparison.com/azimo/

If they are going to be charging that - does anyone know if the ATMs here will accept Revolut or Caxton cards ? If so i am tempted to use those - put sterling on them online then use them to withdraw local currency - at a good exchange rate set at time of withdrawal by Revolut or Caxton. As long as you withdraw it in local currency it should be better than the amount the ATM/banks charge for sterling withdrawal.
Might be worth looking into.

ATM's here definitely accept Revolut cards and pay out in all currencies set on the card.

If you have a Revolut card or similar, then you might as well just use it for shopping - I know that it might not be your first choice for small items, or down at the Wednesday Market , but it can reduce the need to carry TL around with you to an absolute minimum...

Also, can you be sure that ATMs will not charge 'non-account holders' for withdrawing TL ???

We've used local banks to withdraw TL with a revolut card, no charge. Revolut set a withdrawal limit of £200 a month unless you pay a monthly charge. Over £200 attracts a 2%(?) fee if I remember correctly.

Starling is an excellent alternative to Revolut. It’s a fully functioning online bank account, has the same currency conversion benefits, but the atm limits are £300 a day. More info here: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credi ... rds/#debit

Does anyone know whether you can get free sterling from ATM's in the south side?

I think that the question has been asked before, and the consensus was that you can only get ROC Legal Currency - Euros - from ATMs in the South.

There are multi currency ATMs in the south - some Bank of Cyprus machines for one - but unfortunately they only appear to be able to give currencies other than euro to users of BOC cards. As soon as you put in a foreign card, the multi currency option disappears. Rather defeats the object of the exercise I would have thought.

On the subject of TEB now charging, I am waiting for a definitive answer on this from the bank. It appears probable that you may be charged depending upon which UK bank you are using. I have drawn sterling today - no charged - from a Nationwide account because, along with other UK banks, TEB have a deal going with Nationwide. Some UK banks however - Co-op I understand being one - do not have this deal and you will be charged. When I hear from TEB, I will post the outcome.

Thank you Agobard, there is a lot of confusion about the situation, and this will help to resolve it.

I am a Nationwide customer - I am also not rich, possibly infamous but certainly not rich - however, as I draw around £1500 per month in Sterling to change into TL each month, even with the 2.1% extra charge it will only cost me £31.50 a month extra to live here and continue with a stress free life - I feel that as I draw this money in support of myself and my wife that 50P a day is not excessive to allow us to stay here. Of course if UK bin out of the EU without any deal and the £ nose dives into obscurity, I may have a different opinion - lol. Will try Nationwide card in the TEB ATM tomorrow and post results.

Agobard wrote:On the subject of TEB now charging, I am waiting for a definitive answer on this from the bank. It appears probable that you may be charged depending upon which UK bank you are using. I have drawn sterling today - no charged - from a Nationwide account because, along with other UK banks, TEB have a deal going with Nationwide. Some UK banks however - Co-op I understand being one - do not have this deal and you will be charged. When I hear from TEB, I will post the outcome.

Which TEB ATM did you use .?
I tried withdrawing from the TEB ATM yesterday at the ATM next to starling in Alsancak and to withdraw £500 on a Nationwide flex card it was going to charge me £10.50 .!!
What type of Nationwide card are you using .?

Answer now from TEB - they are going to charge 2.10% which (they say) is cheaper than other banks. Doesn't quite explain why they have not charged me on a recent withdrawal but hey, hey!

Sorry folks but can neither confirm nor deny about TEB ATM charges as the ATM was not giving receipts. However, my daily max withdrawal rate is £500 and if a charge is added then having asked for £500 it would not give it to me as I would have exceeded my daily limit - this happened with another banks ATM when they all started to charge so I know that to be true!

Went to TEB ATM this morning and asked for £500 - it gave it to me! I used my Nationwide card, did not get a receipt - but that bit of the ATM has not worked for a while - and Nationwide are not known for their speed in updating online statements, so I will not be sure my transaction was fee free for a few days.

But it looks like TEB not charging ATM fees for using Nationwide cards - so far!

The charge is shown on the screen of the ATM ....you don't need a receipt to see the charge .

I tried my Caxton Card to withdraw Lira from TEB ATM and was charged 7% Processing Fee !!!! This makes it much more expensive than withdrawing Sterling. Does anyone know if all Banks charge this amount?

Just out of interest really but has anyone with an HSBC account tried using Albank cashpoint, as they took over the HSBC branches over here, and actually advertise their credit card as Premier..... so obviously hung onto to something from HSBC...… I will try it myself in a few days, but just wondered if anyone had already tried it.

mrsgee wrote:Just out of interest really but has anyone with an HSBC account tried using Albank cashpoint, as they took over the HSBC branches over here, and actually advertise their credit card as Premier..... so obviously hung onto to something from HSBC...… I will try it myself in a few days, but just wondered if anyone had already tried it.

Albank does not dispense Sterling unfortunately.

Thank you Jo and Jelly

On another forum Is bank ATM took £160 from someones account but issued no money. Upon asking at the bank they were told the machine does not belong to us and as you are not our customer we cant do anything. Its the second time this has happened seems to be only when sterling is withdrawn.

Am a nationwide Flex account holder. Used the TEB ATM in Karakum today, charges 2.0% (I think) for sterling, first time I have had charges at TEB.

Yep, Teb charged me to make a Sterling withdrawal at their branch in Kyrenia using Starling card, another charge another cost, someone can find a way round it other than getting visitors to bring cash over!

It does look as if people with Nationwide cards are better off. I'm with Halifax and was charged 14.00gbp or drawing out 400gbp from a Garanti bank. Plus a percentage by Halifax (can't remember what it was though).

What are the total charges (ATM plus your own Bank) if you withdraw Turkish Lira from various ATM's using a Debit Card?

How do those charges compare with the end result when you withdraw Sterling and lug it around to an Exchange Bureau?

What about using a Revolut Card to withdraw Turkish Lira from an ATM (within the £200 per month limit on a 'free' Revolut card)? - Are there any charges for doing that?

If no one has tried it by the time, I need some more cash, then I will, and I'll post my conclusions on here.

If one has a Starling, Revolut or Monzo cards or possibly other similar cards what do you need cash for?
If you open a bank account in TRNC, transfer cash into it and take cash from that when needed.
Most businesses accept cards.

A useful article on what UK banks charge using cards abroad. https://www.lovemoney.com/bestbuys/1573 ... y-spending

Keith, I have used Revolut card to take out TL from Ziraat ATM with no charge (under £200 per month). Ziraat ATM's appear to give you a max of 750TL per transaction. However, I looked at their website, and it appears that you can withdraw 1500tl per day without being charged by them. Obviously, at the moment, this is over the £200 limit allowed by Revolut, so you would be charged by Revolut if you took out that amount. Their ATMs don't dispense Sterling.
I haven't taken out Sterling or TL using HBOS debit card since TEB started charging, so can't comment on that. Prior to that was charged £1.50 by UK bank, but never took out TL which incurred further charges by UK bank.

I withdrew 4000TL from a Ziraat Bank ATM recently using my UK HSBC card. I was offered an exchange rate of 6.7 vs the actual rate of 6.9886 (exchange rate mark up of 4%). The amount that came out of my bank was £595.26 vs £579.71 so in effect it cost £15.55 or 2.6%.

Edited to add I was charged £5 by HSBC for a non-sterling transaction.

Keithcaley wrote:What are the total charges (ATM plus your own Bank) if you withdraw Turkish Lira from various ATM's using a Debit Card?

How do those charges compare with the end result when you withdraw Sterling and lug it around to an Exchange Bureau?

What about using a Revolut Card to withdraw Turkish Lira from an ATM (within the £200 per month limit on a 'free' Revolut card)? - Are there any charges for doing that?

If no one has tried it by the time, I need some more cash, then I will, and I'll post my conclusions on here.

I suspect it depends on which ATM you use Keith. I recently drew some out from an ATM in Turkey and was charged and it was well under £200 limit.

Chriswright03 wrote:
I suspect it depends on which ATM you use Keith. I recently drew some out from an ATM in Turkey and was charged and it was well under £200 limit.

Charged how Much? On how many Lira?

Charged by whom?

ATM? Your Bank? Revolut?

Answering Keith's question if I had been able to withdraw my usual £600 from TEB it would have cost me £17 (£5 in UK plus 2% or £12 here). Because I had hit my withdrawal limit I did it as per my post above which cost me in total £20.55

I just sort of knew you would ask that Keith! Sadly I cannot recall the exact details but on 150tl it was something like 5% and it was by the ATM bank as no charge has shown on Revolut.

Mr Chinnery wrote:If one has a Starling, Revolut or Monzo cards or possibly other similar cards what do you need cash for?
If you open a bank account in TRNC, transfer cash into it and take cash from that when needed.
Most businesses accept cards.

A lot of small businesses do not accept card payments - my Barber for a start!

No matter how much I try to use my Revolut card (and I'm a zealot ) I still need some cash.

As for transferring cash from a UK Bank account to a TRNC Bank account - you're liable to get charged heavily at both ends of that transaction - my UK Bank (Part of Santander) charges to send a transfer to TRNC, and my TRNC Bank - Creditwest - gives me the option of paying them to receive my Sterling transfer OR letting them convert it to Lira at a very unfavourable rate!

Incidentally, they do NOT charge me for withdrawing Sterling from an ATM here - an arrangement with which I was very happy until the ATMs started charging...

Does that answer your question?

Chriswright03 wrote:I just sort of knew you would ask that Keith! Sadly I cannot recall the exact details but on 150tl it was something like 5% and it was by the ATM bank as no charge has shown on Revolut.

Bloody Hell, 5% !! I hope that isn't going to be the case here!

alphamike - thanks for that - I was really hoping to hear some good news

JoandJelly - that mirrors my own experience, although it has been a long, long time since I've tried to withdraw Lira using a Bank card - my Santander card is a Visa Debit card, and they are ruthless when it comes to applying charges to 'Foreign' transactions - they once even charged me for withdrawing Sterling from an ATM at an airport in the UK - although I may have been 'airside' at the time.

from alphamike's post it seems as though using Revolut and Ziraat ATMs (and possibly other ATMs) would supply the relatively small amount of cash in Lira to 'fill the gap' where I cannot use my Revolut to pay for transactions.

Thank you all - any further comments are most welcome!

Has anyone used Paypal to transfer sterling or lira from UK to here?

I've never tried it because I understood that it was not a particularly economical way to transfer cash - if anyone proves me wrong, I'll be delighted!

I did find this on nerdwallet:

What is the best way to transfer money internationally?
Your first choice for international money transfers shouldn't be your bank. You'll likely pay lower costs and get your money there faster by using one of these licensed money transfer companies. Here are five to consider.
...
5 Best Ways to Send Money Internationally
TransferWise.
OFX.
Xoom.
MoneyGram.
Western Union.

Lloyds were charging a flat £9 to transfer any amount. I do not know if that is still the case as I have not done so for quite some time but will have to if we cannot draw cash from an ATM without charge here. Of course then we get charged to put the money into the bank here! Free banking is on it's way out again I think.

Further to my earlier message where I was charged 14GBP on a withdrawal of 400GBP a week or so ago. Today I was charged 10GBP to withdraw the same amount. Same bank ATM, same UK bank.

Keithcaley wrote:I've never tried it because I understood that it was not a particularly economical way to transfer cash - if anyone proves me wrong, I'll be delighted!

I did find this on nerdwallet:

What is the best way to transfer money internationally?
Your first choice for international money transfers shouldn't be your bank. You'll likely pay lower costs and get your money there faster by using one of these licensed money transfer companies. Here are five to consider.
...
5 Best Ways to Send Money Internationally
TransferWise.
OFX.
Xoom.
MoneyGram.
Western Union.

Thanks Keith. Does anyone know if local banks charge for receiving TL via Transferwise and if so how much?

Does anyone know if local banks charge for receiving TL via Transferwise and if so how much?

I'll treat that as an 'open' question, and hope that someone else can answer it

On Revolut its possible to have multiple accounts in different currencies, we currently have GBP and Euro but you can have a TRY account. So I guess you could transfer sterling to the GBP account, use the exchange facility (at bank rate) to convert it to lira then use the bank transfer facility to send it to your TRNC account. Historically, TRNC banks only charged for receiving transfers in foreign currency but that may have changed. Revolut do have a limit of £5000 per month for spending, transferring and exchanging money on the free card, it's 0.5% charge after that.
Even withdrawing from an ATM, the 2% fee charged after exceeding the monthly limit is still cheaper than the fee payable on withdrawing sterling, by sounds of it. We've never paid anything extra to date using the card to withdraw local currency in any country.
Sounds like the days of withdrawing sterling for free, we have a Nationwide flex card, are over

When we transfer Euro to a Euro current account in Creditwest (from an Irish bank - Ulsterbank) we pay a flat fee of €0.50 (50cents). That covers sending and receiving bank charges. The money is generally in the Creditwest account within 2-3 days.

We then transfer that into a one-month TL savings account - at the bank’s exchange rate - (to earn a little interest while it’s waiting to be used) and each month transfer our spending money from that into our TL current account.

Payments here in N Cyprus are made either by cash or Cardplus debit card.

Trying to do the same with Sterling seems to incur much higher charges by the sending bank (RBS) - of the order of circa £25?

I tested Garanti bank yesterday for withdrawing lira and was charged 303.73tl for withdrawing 2000tl which is 15.15%. Obviously will not go that route again. I am also charged 2.75% by HSBC UK for a foreign currency transaction so it seems that the TEB route is probably favourite at 2.1%.
I do know that apart from the fee charged my UK bank or swift etc, for a foreign currency transfer a fee will be charged this end also.

All in all my Garanti bank trial was an expensive one.

Any tourists who return here are going to be most disgruntled if they rely on their bank card for cash.