Attention those drowning in credit card debt: New system starts in 14 days!

In line with a joint decision by the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (TCMB) and the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK), an opportunity for restructuring credit card and consumer loan debts has been introduced.

 With the decision published in the Official Gazette, a new payment arrangement will be offered for citizens struggling to pay their debts.

According to a report by the Sabah newspaper, public banks Ziraat Bank, Vakıfbank, and Halkbank have already begun restructuring processes. The total amount of debt restructured through public banks has already exceeded 1.5 billion TL. 

Among private banks, İş Bankası and Akbank have also joined this process and started restructuring operations.

With the decision taken by the BDDK, citizens who cannot pay their individual credit card and consumer loan debts will have the opportunity to restructure their debts for up to 60 months. In particular, individual credit card holders who cannot meet the minimum payment amount will be able to pay off their current debt balances in installments over this period.

The Central Bank aims to facilitate payments for consumers by limiting the maximum interest rate to be applied to individual credit card debts to the reference interest rate of 3.11 percent.

In line with the steps taken by the BDDK, the Central Bank will differentiate the maximum interest rates to be applied to credit cards based on the size of the debt. 

These rates, which will be announced on October 24, will come into effect on November 1. If the current reference rate is maintained, an interest rate of 3.50 percent will be applied for credit cards with a period debt of under 25 thousand TL, 4.25 percent for debts between 25 thousand TL and 150 thousand TL, and 4.75 percent for those over 150 thousand TL.

For consumer loan debts, restructuring for up to 60 months will be possible for payments delayed by more than 30 days without providing additional credit. However, it is mandatory for debtors to apply within one year to benefit from this opportunity.

The maximum interest rate for cash withdrawals and usage on credit cards has been set at 5 percent.

According to the decision taken by the BDDK, citizens who cannot pay their credit card and loan debts will be offered the opportunity to pay in installments for up to 60 months. For those who cannot pay the minimum amount of their period debt, when they restructure their entire debt, the monthly installments will be added to the minimum payment amount. 

Furthermore, the credit card limit cannot be increased until half of the restructured debt is paid.

Those who have entered a 30-day delay for consumer loan debts will also be able to benefit from this restructuring opportunity. 

However, it should be remembered that applications must be made within 1 year.