North Cyprus Internet VISA/Mastercard Cards

daria



Joined: 25/06/2010
Posts: 109

Message Posted:
22/12/2011 20:08

I was wondering and looking for an option of opening an account in some local bank with the opportunity to make plastic card attached to my account and (the most important!) chance to pay with this card for shopping and paying for service online. I didn't find any option whatsoever yet. Any advices and facts related to the subject would be highly appreciated. Thank you!

kaiserphil


Joined: 14/12/2008
Posts: 1096

Message Posted:
22/12/2011 20:37

When I had an account with HSBC in Girne, I had a card for drawing cash from their ATMs. I tried to use it in restaurants, and was successful once!

Deniz1


Joined: 28/07/2009
Posts: 3829

Message Posted:
22/12/2011 20:59

You can get a credit card from any bank where you have an account but they block the amount of your credit limit in case you dont pay. Only applies to non T C s of course. They think all foreigners are untrustworthy.

lovingcyprus


Joined: 02/03/2007
Posts: 1272

Message Posted:
22/12/2011 22:02

Message 1



Try Turk Bank they have a Cashcard that does exactly what you are looking for (not sure about online though. You can use it for shopping and getting cash from your account

rsalih


Joined: 01/11/2008
Posts: 306

Message Posted:
22/12/2011 22:15

message 3 What you are saying doesn't only apply to non TCs it applies to everyone.

Deniz1


Joined: 28/07/2009
Posts: 3829

Message Posted:
23/12/2011 08:09

I am saying a T C can get a credit card and they dont block any money from their account. When i had a credit card the limit was 1000ytl and 1600 was blocked on my account. When i asked why i was told its because you are not a turkish cypriot and you may leave and not pay your bill. Is that plain enough?

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
23/12/2011 08:16

We have a credit card with Iktisatbank. When setting it up they asked us to choose a monetary limit for the card and whether we wanted to use it to purchase goods on the internet. Deniz1 is quite right, the limit we chose is blocked from being withdrawn from our deposit account.

Mrs G

Agobard


Joined: 20/08/2008
Posts: 271

Message Posted:
23/12/2011 08:17

Same situation regarding cheque books. If you are a non-TC, you either have to have a substantial deposit in the bank - frequently some of which is ring fenced - or provide 2 Turkish Cypriots to sign a guarantee form before the bank will give you a cheque book. This latter requirement is laughable considering that most bounced cheques here are written by TCs. Totally racist policies!

Deniz1


Joined: 28/07/2009
Posts: 3829

Message Posted:
23/12/2011 08:18

Thank you Mrs G. Happy Christmas.

fishman10


Joined: 01/04/2010
Posts: 125

Message Posted:
23/12/2011 11:26

She looks for a card which can be used for paying online I.e. paying for services, ordering stuff, tickets etc. wherever visa payment os available. Daria has few local accounts and cards, but they are not good for online payments. Could you advise a good option for this?

Deniz1


Joined: 28/07/2009
Posts: 3829

Message Posted:
23/12/2011 13:34

My Iktisaat crdit card was fine for internet payments. But you have to tell them and they will activate it as an extra service or it wont work.

daria



Joined: 25/06/2010
Posts: 109

Message Posted:
23/12/2011 14:25

thank you very much, Deniz1. Very helpful Will go and talk to them then

Deniz1


Joined: 28/07/2009
Posts: 3829

Message Posted:
23/12/2011 21:22

You are welcome.

Yilly


Joined: 02/11/2008
Posts: 46

Message Posted:
24/12/2011 11:03

The reason your account is blocked is for security for the bank , it's not because they think all Brits are in trustworthy just imaging 100 foreign nationals spent 1000 lira on their cards then decided I don't like Cyprus anymore then went back to their own country, the banks would be out out of pocket.... Look what happened to the uk lending money with no security to every Tom dick and Harry. I'd say it's very responsible. And it's not like the government car beg for hand outs from the EU getting 80 billion euros a time

Yilly


Joined: 02/11/2008
Posts: 46

Message Posted:
24/12/2011 11:10

And you can you a MasterCard from Iktisatbank for online purchases but when the card arrives you have to sign a form to lift he mail order limit off of it. If you wanted a limit of 1000 lira you would need to keep 1250 tl in a timed deposit account at all time which will be unblocked when you hand in the card and pay any overdue balance

joandjelly


Joined: 24/02/2008
Posts: 2953

Message Posted:
24/12/2011 12:55

I have a credit card with HSBC, no issues with internet purchases and completely unsecured.