Does PayPal Work in Turkey? What PayPal’s Own Notice Says
PayPal’s notice for Türkiye in plain words, the dated rules on systems and TCMB’s lists. Pick your situation first. Checked 20.10.2026.
Table of Contents
For accounts opened in Türkiye, no. PayPal’s own notice for customers in Türkiye says it stopped its activities there in June 2016: customers in Türkiye cannot send or receive money, cannot reach their accounts and cannot withdraw to linked bank accounts. The notice, checked 20.10.2026, announces no restart. Pick your situation below and read what the notice says about it.
In short · checked 20.10.2026
PayPal’s notice says its service in Türkiye stopped in 2016. These are its words, case by case.
- Accounts opened in Türkiye: customers cannot send or receive money, cannot reach their accounts and cannot withdraw to linked bank accounts.
- Sellers in Türkiye: they cannot receive payments into their accounts in Türkiye, from buyers in Türkiye or abroad.
- Money still in an account: the notice gives one route, PayPal’s support address, and no payout steps.
- An account from another country: the notice says accounts must be opened in the country where the user lives.
- TCMB’s lists: PayPal is on neither its list of payment institutions nor its list of e-money institutions.
Pick your situation PayPal’s words for each
Tap the case that is yours. Each card gives what PayPal’s notice for customers in Türkiye says about it, in plain English, with the Turkish sentence beside it and the date it was checked, 20.10.2026.
Which situation is yours?
An account opened in Türkiye
PayPal’s customers in Türkiye cannot send or receive money, cannot reach their accounts and cannot withdraw to the bank accounts linked to them.
PayPal’s words · Türkçe
PayPal’ın Türkiye’deki müşterileri para gönderemez veya alamaz, hesaplarına erişemez ya da tanımlı banka hesaplarına para çekemezler.
The same notice says PayPal stopped its activities in Türkiye from June 2016: “Haziran 2016 tarihinden itibaren Türkiye’deki faaliyetlerimizi durdurduğumuzu”.
Source: PayPal’s notice for customers in Türkiye, checked 20.10.2026.
Someone abroad pays an account in Türkiye
A payment sent to the account of a customer in Türkiye fails, and the sender is told that this kind of payment is no longer possible.
PayPal’s words · Türkçe
Bu işlemler başarısız olur ve bu tip bir işlemin artık mümkün olmadığı bildirilir.
Source: PayPal’s notice for customers in Türkiye, checked 20.10.2026.
A seller in Türkiye
Sellers in Türkiye cannot receive payments into their accounts in Türkiye, whether the buyer is in Türkiye or abroad.
PayPal’s words · Türkçe
Türkiye’deki satıcılarımız, Türkiye’deki veya başka ülkelerdeki alıcılardan Türkiye’deki hesaplarına ödeme alamazlar.
For sellers who had an agreement with PayPal, the notice says PayPal is not permitted to provide the service in Türkiye, so it stopped the transactions made for its customers there: “Türkiye’de PayPal hizmetini sağlamamıza izin verilmiyor”.
Source: PayPal’s notice for customers in Türkiye, checked 20.10.2026.
An account opened in another country
PayPal’s notice says users must open their PayPal accounts in the country where they live.
PayPal’s words · Türkçe
Kullanıcılarımızın PayPal hesaplarını ikamet ettikleri ülkede açmaları gerekir.
PayPal’s own UK help page says the laws that apply to PayPal accounts differ by country, so the address of an account cannot be changed to a country other than the one used when it was opened (PayPal help).
Source: PayPal’s notice for customers in Türkiye, checked 20.10.2026.
Money still in the account
To the question “How can I get the money in my PayPal account?” the notice answers with PayPal’s support address, destek@paypal.com.
PayPal’s words · Türkçe
Ayrıca size yardımcı olabilmemiz için destek@paypal.com adresinden PayPal Müşteri Hizmetleri’ne de ulaşabilirsiniz.
Not in the notice: payout steps, dates or conditions.
Source: PayPal’s notice for customers in Türkiye, checked 20.10.2026.
What the rules on systems say with their dates
The Turkish rule on where payment and e-money institutions keep their information systems, with its dates, in the texts TCMB publishes.
2013
Law 6493
Defines payment institutions and e-money institutions in Turkish law. BDDK was the authority for them until the end of 2019 (TCMB overview).
27 June 2014
Communiqué on the information systems of payment and e-money institutions (issue 29043)
Article 16(1): the institutions must keep their primary and secondary systems in Türkiye: “Kuruluşların birincil ve ikincil sistemlerini yurt içinde bulundurmaları zorunludur.” This communiqué was repealed on 1 December 2021 (text).
1 January 2020
TCMB takes over
Under Law 7192, published on 22 November 2019, TCMB becomes the authority that regulates and supervises payment services, payment service providers and e-money issuing, in place of BDDK (TCMB overview).
1 December 2021
New communiqué (issue 31676)
Article 21(1): the primary and secondary systems and the data-backup centres must be in Türkiye: “Kuruluşların birincil ve ikincil sistemleri ile veri yedekleme merkezlerini yurt içinde bulundurmaları zorunludur.” Article 32 repeals the 2014 communiqué (text).
7 October 2023
Article 21(4) added
For a payment with a party abroad, the institution may share abroad the data the payment needs, on the customer’s request or instruction, while the data stays in Türkiye. Article 21(1) is unchanged in TCMB’s consolidated text (amendments up to 4 September 2026).
What TCMB’s lists show checked 20.10.2026
TCMB says the providers that may offer payment services in Türkiye under Law 6493 are banks under the Banking Law, payment institutions, e-money institutions and the postal service PTT (TCMB overview). Its pages list the payment institutions and the e-money institutions, with the services each may offer.
- Payment institutions
- 20 listed (TCMB table). PayPal is not among them.
- E-money institutions
- 55 listed (TCMB table). PayPal is not among them.
- Cancelled or ended permits
- Both tables also list institutions whose permit was cancelled or has ended. PayPal is on neither list.
Counts and names checked 20.10.2026. To check any other name, open the two live tables.
An account from another country PayPal’s residence rule
PayPal’s notice for customers in Türkiye says users must open their PayPal accounts in the country where they live: “Kullanıcılarımızın PayPal hesaplarını ikamet ettikleri ülkede açmaları gerekir.”
PayPal’s own UK help page says the laws that apply to PayPal accounts differ by country, so the address of an account cannot be changed to a country other than the one used when the account was opened (PayPal help).
Is PayPal coming back? the dated facts
Neither PayPal’s notice nor TCMB’s lists announce a restart (checked 20.10.2026).
- PayPal’s notice, 20.10.2026
- It speaks of the stop in the past tense and gives no restart and no date (notice).
- TCMB’s lists, 20.10.2026
- PayPal is not listed as a payment institution or as an e-money institution.
Questions short answers
Does PayPal work in Turkey?
For accounts opened in Türkiye, PayPal’s notice says no: customers there cannot send or receive money, cannot reach their accounts and cannot withdraw to linked bank accounts.
Why did PayPal stop?
PayPal’s notice says it is not permitted to provide the service in Türkiye: “Türkiye’de PayPal hizmetini sağlamamıza izin verilmiyor” (checked 20.10.2026).
Can someone abroad pay my PayPal account in Türkiye?
The notice says such payments fail and that the sender is told this kind of payment is no longer possible.
Can I get money out of an old account?
The notice gives one route, PayPal’s support address, destek@paypal.com, and describes no payout steps, dates or conditions.
Is PayPal on TCMB’s list?
No. It is not listed as a payment institution or as an e-money institution, and it is not on the cancelled or ended lists (checked 20.10.2026).
Sources
- PayPal: notice for customers in Türkiye (Turkish) — PayPal, checked 20.10.2026
- PayPal UK: Can I change the address on my PayPal account to another country? — PayPal, checked 20.10.2026
- TCMB: overview of the payment services area (Turkish) — TCMB, checked 20.10.2026
- TCMB: payment institutions (Turkish) — TCMB, checked 20.10.2026
- TCMB: e-money institutions (Turkish) — TCMB, checked 20.10.2026
- Communiqué of 1 December 2021, issue 31676, with later amendments (PDF, Turkish) — TCMB, checked 20.10.2026
- Communiqué of 27 June 2014, issue 29043, repealed 1 December 2021 (PDF, Turkish) — TCMB, checked 20.10.2026
