Sending Money to Turkey: What a Transfer Really Costs
What sending money to Turkey costs: the printed fee, the exchange-rate gap and how you pay, measured against the TCMB rate.
Table of Contents
Money sent to Turkey costs two things and a choice. The fee is printed next to your amount. The exchange rate is not: it sits inside the lira the recipient gets. And how you pay can change the fee. This page splits a quote into those parts and measures it against the TCMB rate.
The short version
A transfer costs the fee
plus the exchange-rate gap.
- Fee: the number printed next to your amount.
- Exchange rate: inside the lira that arrive. Western Union’s page says it makes money from currency exchange.
- How you pay: it can change the fee. On Wise’s page for Germany the same 1,000 EUR is listed from 6.32 EUR to 56.59 EUR.
- Yardstick: the TCMB rate of 19.10.2026, in the tool below.
Two leaks
Where does the money go?
The tool takes three numbers from any quote: what you pay in total, the fee inside it and the lira the recipient gets. The pipe shows what the printed fee and the exchange rate each take, measured against the TCMB rate.
Example, not a quote
Use another reference rate
Dashed line: the same money at the reference rate. Each jar holds up to 5% of what you pay.
The lira in your quote are worth 979.87 EUR at the reference rate. Of the 1,000 EUR you pay, 20.13 EUR (2.01%) is the printed fee (10.00 EUR) plus the exchange-rate gap (10.13 EUR).
Reference rate: TCMB forex buying/selling midpoint, 19.10.2026 (bulletin 2026/197). The rate on the day the money arrives can differ. The tool works only on the numbers you type; it does not know any provider’s price.
Three parts of one price
A transfer has a fee, an exchange rate and a way of paying. Each provider’s own page shows some of them in a fixed table or sentence and the rest in a live calculator.
The fee
The amount printed next to yours. It can change with how you pay: on Wise’s page for Germany, sending 1,000 EUR costs 6.32 EUR from a Wise account and 56.59 EUR by debit card.
The exchange rate
Not printed as a fee. Wise says it uses the mid-market rate and shows its fee upfront. Western Union says it makes money from currency exchange.
How you pay
Wise’s table lists a Wise account, bank transfer, a payment directly from your bank account, Google Pay, Apple Pay, debit card and credit card for the same 1,000 EUR.
The row “Directly from your bank account” is what Wise’s table calls PISP, short for payment initiation service provider: you let Wise start a bank transfer from your own bank account, without leaving its app to log in to your online banking.
The bars below are Wise’s own table for 1,000 EUR, paid seven ways.
The same 1,000 EUR, paid seven ways
- Wise account6.32 EUR
- Bank transfer8.73 EUR
- Directly from your bank account6.90 EUR
- Google Pay20.74 EUR
- Apple Pay20.74 EUR
- Debit card56.59 EUR
- Credit card20.74 EUR
What each page says about itself
This is what Wise, Western Union and Remitly each say on their own pages for Turkey, in one form.
| Provider | Pay-out in Turkey | Fee and rate |
|---|---|---|
| Wise | Says the recipient gets the money in lira directly from Wise’s local bank account. | Says it uses the mid-market rate and shows its fee upfront. |
| Western Union | Says money goes to cash pickup or to a bank account. | Says fees and rates vary by how you pay and how it is paid out, and that it makes money from currency exchange. |
| Remitly | Says it pays out as cash pickup, bank deposit or mobile wallet. | Shows its fee and rate in a live calculator. |
Getting the money in Turkey
There are two ways to receive: into a bank account, or as cash at a pickup point. Wise says the recipient gets the money in lira directly from Wise’s local bank account. Western Union’s page lists cash pickup and a bank account, and says a bank pay-out needs the receiver’s details and an IBAN. This page has no field for an IBAN or account number.
The rate of the day
TCMB publishes a list of exchange rates in a bulletin on working days. This one is bulletin 2026/197 of 19.10.2026. The tool above takes the midpoint of the forex buying and forex selling rate as its reference. TCMB’s own buying and selling rates are 0.18% apart for EUR, 0.18% for USD and 0.52% for GBP; its banknote rates for EUR are 0.40% apart.
| 1 unit in lira | Forex buying | Forex selling | Midpoint used | Banknote buying | Banknote selling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EUR | 55.4677 | 55.5676 | 55.5177 | 55.4288 | 55.6509 |
| USD | 49.4632 | 49.5523 | 49.5078 | 49.4286 | 49.6267 |
| GBP | 65.8058 | 66.1489 | 65.9774 | 65.7598 | 66.2481 |
Quick answers
Is there a transfer with no fee?
A fee line of zero shows only the printed part. Western Union’s page says it makes money from currency exchange, and the exchange-rate gap in the tool above counts that part too.
Can I send euros to a lira account?
Wise’s page says you send EUR and the recipient gets TRY, paid out from Wise’s local bank account. Western Union’s page lists a bank account as a pay-out.
What if the rate changes before the money arrives?
The tool works on the rate in your own quote. The TCMB list is a bulletin on working days, so a reference from another day will differ.
How do I read a quote I already have?
Type the total you pay, the fee inside it and the lira the recipient gets. The tool gives the cost in total, the printed fee and the exchange-rate gap, each in money and in percent.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from the pages below, with the check date. Rates and fees change, so each provider’s own calculator has the last word on the day.
Open the source list
- TCMB exchange rates, bulletin 2026/197 — TCMB, checked 19.10.2026
- Wise: send money to Turkey, page for senders in Germany — Wise, checked 19.10.2026
- Western Union: send money to Turkey, page for senders in Germany — Western Union, checked 19.10.2026
- Remitly: send money to Turkey — Remitly, checked 19.10.2026
The illustrations were drawn for this guide.
