How to trust an exchange office in Turkey: 10 signs

When the banking route between Iran and Turkey is closed, your money inevitably passes through an intermediary: an exchange office. That is where most of the help happens, and also where most of the losses occur. Every week someone writes in a Telegram group that they handed their money to an "exchange" and never heard back; and almost every time, the warning signs were in plain view from the start.

This article lists ten signs you can verify yourself, with no legal expertise. They are generic and apply to every exchange office in Turkey, ourselves included. If you are comparing ways to move money, the guide to sending money from Iran to Turkey is a better place to start; here we only ask one question: whom to hand the money to.

Why trust works differently in this market

In ordinary transactions, if something goes wrong a bank or a court offers a way back. In a non-bank transfer you pay toman in Iran and expect lira to arrive in Turkey; no intermediary institution guarantees that promise. The only real guarantee is therefore the identity and track record of the other party. The ten signs below measure exactly that.

Signs 1 to 4: identity and licence

1. A physical office you can visit, with a published address and opening hours

A business that moves people's money should have a door you can knock on. A precise address, opening hours and the possibility of walking in, even if you never do, mean the other side is prepared to be accountable. Being an "online exchange" is no obstacle to having an office: orders can come through a website or WhatsApp, but a real address must stand behind them. If the proposed meeting place is a café, a car park or "in front of the metro station", stop.

2. The official licence: an authorised institution

At the time of writing (October 2026), exchange offices in Turkey operate as authorised institutions (yetkili müessese) under Decree No. 32 on the Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency and Communiqué 2018-32/45, and are licensed by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance. Licences come in two groups, A and B, with different permitted activities, and every office must hold the operating permit document. The Ministry publishes an official guide for these institutions, and in a sector report years ago it estimated that unlicensed operators outnumbered licensed ones several times over.

The practical consequence: asking to see the permit, or asking for the company's legal name so you can check it, is completely normal. If the other party also offers crypto services, bear in mind that crypto platforms in Turkey have required authorisation from the Capital Markets Board (SPK) since 2024, and operating without it is a criminal offence.

3. You are asked to verify your identity

Some newcomers are put off when an office asks for ID. Look at it the other way round: identity verification is a sign that anti-money-laundering rules are being followed, and the same rules protect you from money of doubtful origin. An office that asks no questions about significant amounts is either circumventing the law or not a real business.

4. The rate and fee in writing before you pay, with a validity window

Before you hand over a single rial you should know the final rate, how much the fee is and whether it is separate or built into the rate, and how long the quote is valid. All of this should be in writing, even if only in a WhatsApp message. "We'll settle up later" or "the rate at the moment of deposit" means the other side reserves the right to name any figure afterwards.

Signs 5 to 7: how the money moves

5. A receipt for every leg

Every handover and every payment should leave a document: a receipt for the funds taken from you and the bank receipt (dekont) for the payment to the destination. These are not just for a rainy day; if an Iranian or Turkish bank asks about the origin of the money, they are your answer. An office that avoids issuing receipts is telling you it does not want a trail.

6. Payment only to the business's own account

The simplest and most important rule: your money should go to an account in the name of the exchange office's own company or legal entity, never to a stranger's card. A "rented card" is one whose owner has handed it to others for a fee, and it is used to move money of unknown origin; if your money passes through such a card, your own account can become part of a case. A request to pay a third party's card, whatever the excuse, is the sign to end the transaction.

7. The same identity on the website, phone, WhatsApp and at the office

Is the number on the website the one that calls you? Does the company name on the receipt match the bank account and the sign on the office? Fraudsters often borrow the name and logo of a real office and change only the contact number. Always take the number from the official channel (the website or the office), and if someone in a Telegram group introduces themselves as a representative, confirm through that same official channel.

Signs 8 to 10: behaviour and history

8. No pressure or haste, and no requests for passwords or codes

"This rate is only valid for five minutes", "pay now or miss out", "install this app so I can help you": these are tools of pressure, not service. No currency transaction needs your online-banking password, your card PIN, an SMS code or remote access to your phone. A reliable office gives you time, answers your questions and does not insist if you change your mind.

9. A realistic rate

Check the market reference rate on the rates page at that moment. A limited gap between the reference rate and the final rate is normal and reflects the real cost of the service. But an offer clearly better than the market is almost always bait: either a hidden fee follows, or it ends in prepayment and a third party's card. In this market, "cheaper than everyone" is a warning sign, not an advantage.

10. A traceable history

Company registration in Turkey, a website that has operated under the same name for years, customer reviews with real detail (not just "great"), and a clear answer to "how is a dispute resolved". None of these is proof on its own, but together they form a picture that is hard to fake. A channel created yesterday that offers an exceptional rate today has no place on this list.

If something goes wrong

• Gather every receipt, message, account number and date in one place; do not delete any message.
• First ask the office in writing for an explanation and a timeline. Genuine bank errors and delays happen too, and documents resolve them.
• If you get no answer, file a complaint with the police or the prosecutor in Turkey, and inform your bank if you paid by bank transfer; legal remedies exist on the Iranian side as well.
• Record your experience in detail so that others do not walk into the same trap.

These principles at EL DÖVİZ

We treat the same ten signs as the standard for our own work: an office in Istanbul that serves in person, identity verification on both sides, the rate and fee stated before any request is executed, and a receipt for every step. The details are on the about EL DÖVİZ page; for specific services see buying and selling lira and lira transfers to Turkey. More important than trusting us is asking these questions of every exchange office, including us, and continuing only when the answers are clear.