The publishing house "Kommersant" reported on a possibility useful for all Russians planning a trip to Turkey. Thanks to the mobile application Letim, it is possible to issue a virtual card in Turkish lira, with which you can not only pay for purchases, but also withdraw money from local ATMs.
The Letim app has appeared in AppStore and PlayMarket, with which Russian tourists can pay for goods and services, as well as withdraw money from ATMs in Turkey (with a QR code). The application opens a virtual card of the Turkish payment system Troy, and it can be replenished through the SBP (250,000 lira per month, or about 850,000 rubles). The entire balance on the virtual card can only be returned to the account in a Russian bank.
To register in the application, you will need to upload a photo of a foreign passport. The developers of Letim are planning to expand the functionality of the application: soon there will be an opportunity to make online payments, and contactless payment through NFC is promised to be implemented in a few months.
The uniqueness of this service lies in the fact that customers receive a Letim electronic wallet, not a regular plastic card, as in traditional banks. According to experts, the Letim application uses a scheme with prepaid Troy cards, which allows you to use services without the need to open a bank account.
A year ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised that Turkey would engage in finding alternatives to the Mir payment system. Recall that in the fall of 2022, Mir cards stopped working in Turkey under pressure from the US banking system. Then, among the possible options, a system of deposit cards operating during a holiday in the country was offered, as well as the use of the Turkish payment system Troy.