Attention debtors! Central Bank announces credit card interest rate decision

The "Communiqué on Amending the Communiqué on Maximum Interest Rates to be Applied to Credit Card Transactions" by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey has been published in the Official Gazette. With this regulation, a reduction has been made to the maximum interest rates applied to credit cards.

UPPER LIMIT RAISED FOR CARDS WITH LOW DEBT

According to the communiqué, the upper limit applicable to credit card transactions in Turkish Lira for cards with a periodic debt of under 25 thousand liras has been raised to 30 thousand liras. The base point to be added to the active interest rate, which is taken into account in calculating the maximum interest rate for cards in this group, has been reduced from 39 to 14.

INTEREST BURDEN REDUCED FOR MEDIUM DEBT GROUP

The limit determined for credit cards with a periodic debt between 25 thousand liras and 150 thousand liras has been raised to the range of 30 thousand liras to 180 thousand liras. The base point used in determining the maximum interest rate for these cards has also been lowered from 89 to 64.

REDUCTIONS ALSO FOR CARDS WITH HIGH DEBT

The upper limit applied to credit cards with a periodic debt of over 150 thousand liras has been raised to 180 thousand liras. The base point used as a basis for calculating the maximum interest rate for cards in this group has been pulled down from 139 to 114.

CASH ADVANCE INTEREST RATE DECLINED

Within the scope of the regulation, the interest rate for cash advances and overdraft accounts has also been reduced. Accordingly, the interest rate in question has been lowered from 4.50 percent to 4.25 percent.

NEW INTEREST RATES TO BE APPLIED IN 2026

Maximum contractual interest rates for credit cards have been set at 3.25 percent for cards with a periodic debt balance under 30 thousand liras, 3.75 percent for cards between 30 thousand liras and 180 thousand liras, and 4.25 percent for cards with 180 thousand liras of debt. The new rates will be applied starting from January 1, 2026.

News Source: 12punto