Credit card payments surge 52 percent in September

ISTANBUL

Credit cards drove Türkiye’s payment system to new highs in September 2025, according to data released by the Interbank Card Center (BKM).

Payments made with credit cards rose 52 percent year-on-year to 1.86 trillion Turkish Liras, while the number of credit cards in circulation increased 9 percent to 139 million.

Total card payments reached 2.19 trillion liras across 1.76 billion transactions during the month, with credit cards accounting for the largest share.

Bank card payments grew 58 percent to 317 billion liras, while prepaid card payments fell 49 percent to 14.7 billion liras.

Credit cards were used in 1.02 billion transactions, up 12 percent from a year earlier, while bank cards recorded 689 million transactions and prepaid cards 56 million.

Türkiye’s total number of cards reached 462.7 million, including 139 million credit cards, 217 million bank cards and 106 million prepaid cards, representing a 9 percent annual increase.

Online card payments also expanded strongly, climbing 56 percent to 669.8 billion liras and accounting for 30 percent of all card spending. The number of online transactions reached 231 million, a modest 3 percent rise.

Contactless payments continued to dominate in-store activity, making up four out of every five card transactions. The value of contactless payments rose 56 percent to 716 billion liras, while the number of such transactions increased 14 percent to 1.19 billion.