Status: 05/23/2022 07:58 a.m
Despite the war in Ukraine, Turkey is hoping to do business with many holidaymakers from Russia. It therefore makes payments, money transfers and account access easier for Russian citizens.
Shortly after the Russian army invaded Ukraine, Elena came to Istanbul. She works in public relations for a Russian university. She doesn’t have to live in Moscow for that, it can also be done online, says the Russian. According to Elena, her employer doesn’t bother her when she expresses herself in Western media. But the Russian state is putting pressure on her, so she doesn’t want her last name published.
She owns an apartment in Moscow and will therefore certainly have to go there again. For the time being, however, she prefers to stay in Turkey because Vladimir Putin’s government apparatus is becoming more and more repressive.
Withdrawing from the machine works
Since Elena has been in Istanbul, she has had to think about how to transfer her wages, which she receives in the Russian ruble, to Istanbul. She has two credit cards belonging to the Mir Russian payment system. You can use these to withdraw money from ATMs in Istanbul that are connected to the said payment system. The ATMs of banks Is, Ziraat and Vakif accept withdrawals with Russian cards. Other Turkish banks in which foreign financial institutions hold shares are apparently more cautious because of the sanctions.
Nurredin Nebati, Turkey’s finance minister, has promised Russian travelers to Turkey that there will be no problems whatsoever with paying with Mir cards in Turkey this season. In April, the Ukrainian central bank appealed to Turkey, among others, to no longer accept payments via the Mir system.
Alternatives to Mir credit cards
There are alternatives to the credit card. Elena has opened an investment account with a Turkish bank, and it’s easy if you bring enough cash, she says. She can use this account to transfer money from Russia to Turkey. Up to $50,000.
And finally there is Koronapay, adds Elena. A payment system used by many in the countries of the former Soviet Union, similar to “Western Union”, the US provider of international money transfers. If there were many Russians queuing in front of Turkish post offices, they would have money paid out via Koronapay, says the Russian, who lives in Istanbul.
Russians in Turkey without fear for ruble accounts
Since the beginning of the war, Turkey has been a country where Russian citizens need not fear losing access to their ruble accounts. Certainly not only Putin’s critics noticed that. The Internet newspaper “Duvar English” reports that wealthy Russians poured money into the Turkish real estate market in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In April, real estate purchases by Russians doubled compared to the previous month. These are at the forefront of foreign buyers.
In 2021, 4.7 million Russian tourists came to Turkey, more than from any other country. Despite western sanctions, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is leaving no stone unturned to make it possible for Russian bathers to vacation on the Turkish Riviera in 2022 as well.
Tourist companies are available
The three tourism companies Southwind Airlines, Coral Travel and Mavi-Gök should contribute to this. Southwind is a new company and could bring passengers from Russia to Antalya as early as the end of May, according to Turkish tourism officials. The attempt by Turkish companies to expand business with Russian travelers is likely to be a reaction to sanctions against Russian airlines that have been bringing Russians to Turkey. At the same time, the Russian airline Aeroflot still operates flights between Moscow and Istanbul.
Elena says her mother came by Aeroflot a few days ago. She only had to fly an hour longer because Ukrainian airspace is closed. Holidays for Russian tourists on the Turkish Riviera seem safe – despite all the sanctions. Holidaymakers from Moscow can also lie by the pool in Antalya this summer and forget about Putin’s war of aggression.