New Era in Money Transfers: Mandatory Explanations for Transactions Over 400,000 Lira

New Regulation to Take Effect on March 15, 2026 The Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) has prepared a comprehensive regulation for money transfers aimed at preventing unregistered movements in the financial system and increasing transparency.
The daily transfer explanation limit, previously projected at 200,000 lira, has been increased to 400,000 lira following impact analyses.
The new rules are scheduled to be implemented as of March 15, 2026.
Explanation Requirement for Transactions Over 400,000 Lira Under the regulation, new audit mechanisms will be activated for money transfers carried out via internet banking, mobile banking, and ATMs.
For transfers exceeding a total of 400,000 lira—whether performed in a single transaction or in parts throughout the day—users will be required to enter at least 20 characters of information explaining the purpose of the transaction.
If generic options such as "other" or "individual payment" are selected, banks may request additional explanations from customers.
Gradual Declaration Requirements Based on Transaction Amount The new application will monitor not only the transfer amount but also transaction frequency.
The procedures to be applied according to the determined limits are structured as follows: For transfers between 400,000 lira and 2 million lira, a minimum 20-character explanation is mandatory.
For transactions between 2 million lira and 20 million lira, a "Cash Transaction Declaration Form" must be filled out.
For transfers exceeding 20 million lira, it will be mandatory to provide additional documents and official information regarding the source of the money.
Warnings Regarding IBAN Use and Penal Risks İrfan Hüseyin Yıldız, President of the Union of Chambers of Certified Public Accountants of Turkey (TÜRMOB), emphasized that citizens should never allow other individuals or institutions to use their IBAN information.
Highlighting the importance of making money transfers to the correct accounts with necessary explanations, Yıldız stated that otherwise, heavy financial and criminal sanctions could be faced.
Reminding that it is mandatory to obtain an invoice for goods or service purchases, Yıldız stated that care should be taken to ensure the name on the invoice matches the person being paid.
Failure to pay attention to these matters could lead to serious charges such as money laundering, participation in tax evasion, and aiding terrorist organizations.