Spending abroad with domestic cards hit a record in May
BKM data showed that physical purchases made abroad with domestic cards reached a peak in May in terms of both total amount and number of transactions.
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According to data from the Interbank Card Center (BKM), physical purchases made abroad with domestic credit cards reached 93 billion 64 million liras in May. Thus, the highest level of all time was recorded in terms of both spending amount and number of transactions.
In May, the number of physical card transactions abroad rose to 52.1 million. The spending amount, which was 75.7 billion liras in April, increased by approximately 23 percent in one month.
The increase was more pronounced in the annual comparison. The amount of physical spending abroad with domestic cards, which was 55.7 billion liras in May 2025, rose by approximately 67 percent in one year. In the same period, the number of transactions increased from 40.4 million to 52.1 million.
INCREASE IN FOREIGN CARDS REMAINED MORE LIMITED
The increase in purchases made in Turkey with foreign cards occurred at a slower pace. The spending amount, which was 41 billion liras in May last year, rose to 48.4 billion liras in the same month this year. The annual increase in this item was approximately 18 percent.
The number of transactions also increased by 11.6 percent, rising from 10.3 million to 11.5 million. The data revealed that Turkish consumers' card purchases abroad are growing faster than foreign visitors' spending in Turkey.
The fact that high inflation in Turkey has pushed prices up in foreign currency terms, especially for products such as ready-to-wear clothing, footwear, cosmetics, and electronics, is cited among the factors increasing the share of overseas shopping in consumer preferences. This picture also leads to assessments that Turkey's long-held perception as an "affordable shopping country" is weakening.
The rise continued on the online shopping side as well. Spending made with domestic cards on e-commerce sites abroad increased from 29.2 billion liras in May 2025 to 43.6 billion liras in May 2026. The annual increase in this item was calculated at approximately 49 percent.
In the same period, purchases made on websites in Turkey with foreign cards rose from 15.9 billion liras to 19.5 billion liras. In overseas online spending, the service sector ranked first with 17.2 billion liras, while travel agencies and transportation were recorded at 9 billion liras, accommodation at 2.7 billion liras, and airline spending at 1.6 billion liras.
On the retail side, 1.8 billion liras were spent on electrical-electronic products and 1 billion liras on clothing products abroad with domestic cards. The highest items in online shopping in Turkey with foreign cards were airline, accommodation, and travel services.