New Era in Money Transfers: 400,000 TL Limit and Mandatory Explanations Start March 15

New MASAK Regulation on Unregistered Money Movements The Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) is implementing a comprehensive regulation for money transfers to prevent unregistered movements within the financial system.
The new rules, scheduled to take effect on March 15, 2026, will place high-value transactions through banking channels under stricter supervision.
Mandatory Explanation for Transactions Over 400,000 Lira Under the new framework, transfer limits for internet banking, mobile banking, and ATMs have been redefined.
Following impact analyses, the daily transfer explanation limit, previously projected at 200,000 lira, has been increased to 400,000 lira.
Accordingly, for transfers exceeding 400,000 lira in a single transaction or in total installments, it will be mandatory to enter an explanation of at least 20 characters specifying the purpose of the transaction.
If generic options such as 'other' or 'individual payment' are selected, banks may request additional information from customers regarding the details of the transaction.
Tiered Supervision Based on Amount The new application will closely monitor not only the transfer amount but also the frequency and volume of transactions.
The regulation introduces tiered obligations based on the size of the transferred amount: 400,000 TL - 2 million TL: Mandatory explanation of at least 20 characters.
2 million TL - 20 million TL: Requirement to fill out a Cash Transaction Declaration Form.
20 million TL and above: Mandatory submission of official documents and additional information regarding the source of the money.
IBAN Usage and Legal Warnings İrfan Hüseyin Yıldız, President of the Union of Chambers of Certified Public Accountants of Turkey (TÜRMOB), warned citizens regarding IBAN usage, emphasizing that accounts should not be allowed to be used by third parties.
Pointing out that the person making the payment and the invoice holder must be the same, Yıldız stated that failure to comply with the rules could lead to severe financial and criminal sanctions, including charges of tax evasion, money laundering, and financing of terrorism.