23.02.2026 12:32
In January, there was a notable jump in card payments. The total spending made with credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards reached 2 trillion 326 billion lira, marking a 45% increase compared to the same month last year. Card payments made online rose by 7% to 245.9 million, while the share of online transactions in the total reached 15%.
The data released by the Interbank Card Center (BKM) for January revealed the strong momentum in card usage.
As of January, the number of credit cards in Turkey reached 143.4 million, the number of debit cards reached 210.9 million, and the number of prepaid cards reached 110.6 million. Compared to the same period last year, the number of credit cards increased by 10%, the number of debit cards increased by 8%, while there was a 2% decrease in the number of prepaid cards. The total number of cards increased by 6% to reach 464.9 million.
VOLUME OF CARD PAYMENTS MULTIPLIED
The total payment amount made with cards in January was recorded as 2 trillion 326 billion lira. Approximately 2 trillion lira of this amount was made with credit cards, 322.8 billion lira with debit cards, and 7.5 billion lira with prepaid cards.
The annual increase in payment amounts was 46% for credit cards, 55% for debit cards, while a decline of 77% was noted for prepaid cards.
The total number of transactions made with cards also increased by 8% to reach 1.7 billion. Of these transactions, 1 billion 9.6 million were made with credit cards, 664.7 million with debit cards, and 31.8 million with prepaid cards.
STRONG TREND IN ONLINE SPENDING
The amount of card payments made online continued to rise. In January, online card spending increased by 42% year-on-year, reaching 687.4 billion lira. Thus, the share of online payments in total card payments reached 30%.
The number of transactions conducted online increased by 7% to 245.9 million. These transactions accounted for 15% of total card payments.
The January data revealed that card usage continued to increase unabated in both physical and digital shopping channels.