International payments at Turkish banks: the documents behind every SWIFT

A Turkish bank does not execute or credit an international transfer on the SWIFT message alone. Under the anti-money-laundering rules (Law 5549 and the MASAK regulations) and the foreign-exchange legislation (Decree 32 and the Central Bank's circulars) the bank must know what the payment is for and see the paper behind it. Companies that keep the set ready move money in a day; companies that assemble it after the call wait a week. This guide lists what banks ask for outgoing and incoming transfers, the rules behind the questions, and how to prepare.

Outgoing transfers: paying a foreign supplier

• Commercial invoice or proforma naming your company as buyer, with the goods or service, amount, currency and payment terms; for advance payments the proforma, for payments after delivery the final invoice.
• Contract or order confirmation where the invoice does not explain the relationship, and for services almost always.
• Customs declaration (gümrük beyannamesi) for goods already imported; for advance payments the bank records the payment as an import advance and expects the declaration within the period set by the import rules, failing which the payment is reported.
• Transport document for cash-against-documents or goods-in-transit payments.
• Service payments abroad: the invoice and contract, plus the withholding-tax and VAT treatment confirmed by your accountant, since the bank may ask whether reverse-charge VAT and withholding were applied.
• Payments for intangibles (licences, software, royalties, dividends to a foreign shareholder): the agreement, the board or general assembly decision, and the tax declaration where withholding applies.

Banks also screen the beneficiary's country, bank and name against sanctions lists; a payment to a bank or jurisdiction under restriction is refused regardless of documents.

Incoming transfers: receiving from abroad

• Export proceeds: the export invoice and the customs declaration number; the bank issues an export proceeds acceptance record (İhracat Bedeli Kabul Belgesi, İBKB). Under the Central Bank's Export Circular proceeds must be brought to Türkiye within 180 days of the export and a share of them sold to the bank; the percentage has changed several times and is published on tcmb.gov.tr.
• Service exports: invoice and contract; the bank classifies the transfer by purpose code.
• Capital and shareholder loans from abroad: the board decision, the loan agreement and, for loans, registration with the Central Bank's foreign-borrowing statistics where required; capital increases must be registered at the trade registry within the period.
• Personal transfers to an individual's account: source-of-funds evidence such as salary slips, a property sale contract, an inheritance certificate or a gift declaration, with notarised translations where foreign (≈ ₺884 per page at the 2026 notarial tariff, paid by you to the notary).
• Property purchase funds: the bank converts the currency and issues the DAB the land registry requires; see our property purchase guide.

The questions compliance teams ask

The bank's letter or call follows a pattern: what is the commercial relationship and since when; what exactly was delivered or will be delivered, where and to whom; why this amount, this currency and this timing; who is the ultimate beneficial owner on each side; where did the funds come from and, for incoming, where will they go; and whether the parties, goods or routes touch a sanctioned country. The questions are standard; the quality of the answer is what differs. A reply that states facts in the bank's own four-block structure, with every statement tied to a numbered document, is cleared quickly; a narrative e-mail is sent back. Our bank compliance guide explains the structure.

How to prepare before the call comes

1. Keep a counterparty file for each regular supplier and customer: registry extract, signed contract, bank details on letterhead, beneficial-ownership declaration.
2. Number and match documents: invoice, order, transport document, customs declaration and payment should reference each other.
3. Align the invoice value with the payment; part-payments need a schedule the bank can follow.
4. Have the translations ready for documents the bank cannot read; most banks accept sworn translations for supporting papers and notarised ones for contracts.
5. Make the payment from the account whose history matches the transaction; a new account with a first transfer of a large amount invites the longest review.
6. Answer within the bank's deadline, usually five to fifteen business days; silence leads to a return of the funds or a closure review.

State fees and notarial tariffs are paid by you directly to the state or to the notary; they never pass through us and we receive nothing from any notary. The figures above are the official 2026 tariff, last checked 24.10.2026.

What goes wrong

• Proforma in one company's name, payment from another.
• Import advance paid, goods never declared under the paying company; the bank reports and the next payment is held.
• Export proceeds left abroad past 180 days.
• Source of funds described in words with no document attached.
• Remittance text that mentions a third country or a party the documents do not.

Sources

• tcmb.gov.tr — Central Bank: Export Circular, Decree 32 communiqués, foreign-exchange rules
• mevzuat.gov.tr — Law 5549 on Prevention of Laundering Proceeds of Crime; Decree 32 on the Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency
• ticaret.gov.tr — Ministry of Trade: import and export regimes, payment methods
• gib.gov.tr — withholding and VAT on payments abroad

Questions