Need a bank account

[kevin b]

Is there any bank that you can say is good for Enlish people to deal with.
We need to open one on our next visit in preparation to buy a house.
What documents will I need to to bring to open an account & is it better opening a sterling or lira account..

[stoop]

I would steer clear of Garanti Bank - we have an account there and they are always busy and you have to queue for ages. However you can set up internet banking with them - something I would recommend you do whichever bank you choose.

We pay our site fees at Vakifbank and they seem pretty organised.

I think you just need your passport and some money to pay in in order to open an account.

[Scunner]

We normally assist with opening a bank account as part of the house buying process anyway Kevin. An easier question might be which banks AREN'T good fr English people as most are pretty good now for us foreigners. So I'll start that list:

Denizbank: A place for English people to be ignored for hours on end while everyone else gets served. We waited 2.5 hours for a withdrawal once, not helped by the fact that there was only one English speaking girl working and she disappeared without a word after about 10 minutes of dealing with us. Imagine our joy when we discovered she had gone for her lunch hour.

Maybe Denizbank works for others, but for me never again.

[cenk]

All banks are crowded nowadays but Finansbank is better than the others .
You will need passport , tax number , and a official paper states your address in UK , this can be driving license with address on it , electric or water bill .
You can open account both in YTL and GBP , you dont need to put money (for Finansbank) .
Cenk

[stoop]

There you go - I was going to say take someone with you who can speak the lingo or knows where to go.

[kenkay]

Garanti now have a second branch slightly "out of town" on the Migros road. This has somewhat eased the queueing situation in the town centre branch. However even before this opened we found we could avoid the queues if we banked in the second half of the week. Also you get priority if you have a bank card to stick in the machine.
Ken

[number2]

I have an account with Yapikredi near migros, of the tellers, there's only Ahmet that speaks English, so if he isn't in i struggle, i know there is a couple upstairs that speak English too, but if you want to draw money out you go downstais, and the place is usually quite empty in the mornings, just a bit further up the road is a Garanti bank, but i've never been in there. Alan

[Diverbaz 1]

HSBC, I haven't come across any of the staff that does not speak English, some better than others I grant you.

To Avoid the queues go around 8:30 in the morning (if such a time exists for you:D).

Baz

[bikerchickblonde]

I recommend TEB .... Efsun (at the desk on entering) speaks perfect English and deals with everything for you ... no hassle and no queues!

[tinkerman]

Take Cenks advice, go to Finans bank, go upstairs to the first floor and speak to Ayshe or one of the other girls, excellent and honest service.