08.11.2025 18:59
The President of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, Fatih Karahan, answered questions following the presentation of the inflation report. Karahan responded to claims that 200 TL banknotes are insufficient for payments. The CBRT President stated that there will be no issuance of 500 and 1000 TL banknotes and that they are satisfied with the current situation.
The President of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT), Fatih Karahan, answered questions related to the agenda following the presentation of the inflation report. Karahan clarified the claims that 200 TL banknotes are insufficient for payments and the question of whether larger banknotes will be printed.
INFLATION FORECAST RAISED
Karahan stated that in the inflation report for the end of 2025, which he announced yesterday, they have raised the year-end inflation forecast range from 25-29% to 31-33%. For 2026, he expressed that the forecast range remains at 13-19%.
"YOU ARE SATISFIED WITH THE CURRENT SITUATION"
In response to journalists' question about whether 200 TL banknotes are insufficient for payments and whether there is any work on printing larger banknotes, Karahan said, "Since it constitutes an important element for the transition of the informal economy into the formal economy, we are satisfied with the current situation."
"AS INFORMALITY DECREASES, IT REFLECTS IN THE DATA"
In his assessment regarding the change in cash usage, Karahan used the following expressions:
"We are looking at the technical needs for cash usage, but we are also happy about the transition from informality to formality caused by the current situation. As informality decreases, this situation is also reflected in the data. We clearly see this in the data of card expenditures."
"PAYMENTS ARE MADE MORE WITH CARDS THAN CASH"
The Central Bank President pointed out that the increase in card expenditures affects the demand outlook:
"Since payments are made more with cards than cash, card expenditures can show the demand outlook higher than it actually is. A significant portion of credit growth is due to credit cards. However, a large part of these is not subject to interest because they are paid off during the payment period. This situation indicates only a change in payment habits and encourages the transition from informality to formality. We are pleased with this."