The Central Bank of TRNC Allows 24/7 Money Transfers through EÖS: List of Banks

The Central Bank of TRNC has announced that as of today, money transfers through the electronic payment system can be carried out at any time, including holidays.

In a statement by the regulator, it was noted that considering the trend of digitization and the needs of bank clients, the transformation of EÖS into a structure that ensures uninterrupted service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including weekends and holidays, has been completed.

Continuous money transfers through EÖS are available round the clock in the following banks:

• Albank Ltd
• Asbank Ltd
• Creditwest Bank Ltd
• Kıbrıs İktisat Bankası Ltd.
• K. Kapitalbank Ltd.
• K. T. Koop. Central Bank Ltd.
• K. Vakıflar Bankasi Ltd.
• Limasol Türk Koop. Bankası Ltd.
• Novabank Ltd.
• Şekerbank (Cyprus) Ltd.
• T.C. Ziraat Bankası A.Ş
• Türk Bankası Ltd.
• Universal Bank Ltd.
• Near East Bank Ltd.

The statement emphasizes that "within a reasonable period of time," all banks will be included in the system.

It was also noted in the statement that for transfers through EÖS outside of working hours, bank clients will need to use internet banking channels. Access to them can be obtained by contacting their banks.

Furthermore, for transfers on non-working days, there will be an upper limit of 50,000 Turkish liras and 1,500 pounds/US dollars/euros. Banks will be able to set their own upper limits as long as they do not exceed these limits. There are no transfer restrictions on working days.

Additionally, to reduce the use of cash and support bill payments through banks, the Central Bank of TRNC, in coordination with the Association of Banks of Northern Cyprus, has decided to set an upper limit on the fees that banks can charge customers for money transfers made through EÖS.

For Turkish currency transactions conducted by banks, money transfers not exceeding 12,000 TL, as well as transactions carried out through mobile banking, internet banking, and ATMs, will incur a maximum fee of 6 TL.

For transactions conducted through branches, the maximum fee is 24 TL.

For money transfers exceeding 12,000 TL, a fee of 0.05% of the transaction amount will be charged, with a maximum of 150 TL for transactions through mobile banking, internet banking, and ATMs, and 0.20% of the transaction amount, with a maximum of 600 TL, for transactions through bank branches.

For foreign currency transactions, money transfers not exceeding 2,000 US dollars/pounds sterling/euros, and transactions carried out through mobile banking, internet banking, and ATMs, the maximum fee will be 1 US dollar/pound sterling/euro.

For transactions conducted through branches, the maximum fee is 4 US dollars/pounds sterling/euros.

For money transfers exceeding two thousand US dollars/pounds sterling/euros, a fee of 0.05 percent will be charged, up to 25 US dollars/pounds sterling/euros for transactions made through mobile banking, internet banking, and ATMs. For transactions made through bank branches, the fee is 0.20 percent, up to 100 US dollars/pounds sterling/euros.

It is also noted that banks will not charge fees for transfers received through EÖS.

"With the introduction of the new system and rules regarding fees, it becomes clear that it is in the best interest of bank clients to use internet banking channels instead of bank branches for money transfers through EÖS," the regulator's statement said.

The Electronic Payment System (EÖS), established and managed by the Central Bank of TRNC in 2015, is an internal payment system that allows transactions in four different currencies: Turkish lira, euro, US dollar, and British pound sterling.

The number of transactions carried out by bank clients through EÖS reached 73,546 in 2016, and in 2023, the number of transactions increased by 960 percent to 779,684.