Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

Looking for some advise/reccomendations please. We have heard of some TRNC credit cards whose bank charges you if you do not use them !!!
We think we should have a credit card (for emergency use only) but do not want to incur charges for non use - IF we used it we would settle in full on the due date.
Any recommendations as to which bank would be best and/or which offers the best customer benefits (eg airport lounge access, air miles on spends etc) ?

Hi ifonly,

The Majority of the banks do actually charge customers to have credit cards (unless they have a very special status i.e VIP / Premium etc.) whether the card is used or not, the fee is an annual card fee and is usually reflected on the statement (charges usually reflect at the end of the first year).

Beside this, with a recent law that has passed, all TRNC Banks have to offer a card that does not actually occur any annual charges but these cards do not usualy have all benefits as to those cards who occur charges. (no air miles, no points etc)

Hope this was helpful

When I enquired about a TRNC credit card at Credit West I was informed that the amount of my credit limit would be held against my deposit funds so I could not withdraw or use that amount.

mickhm wrote:When I enquired about a TRNC credit card at Credit West I was informed that the amount of my credit limit would be held against my deposit funds so I could not withdraw or use that amount.

That is also my understanding.

They allow you to spend money using a credit card and thereby incur 'debt' to the Bank, while continuing to earn interest on the amount deposited in your Savings Account - so not really a Credit Card as we think of them in the UK, but probably a good thing as far as the local population is concerned in that it would not allow them to run up unsustainable amounts of debt...

err......Keith|!

I don't think "the local population" are the only people who run up Credit Card debt, indeed I understand it is a major problem in the UK, Or are you suggesting that UK expats have more sense than the rest of mankind?

Ragged Robin wrote:err......Keith|!

I don't think "the local population" are the only people who run up Credit Card debt, indeed I understand it is a major problem in the UK, Or are you suggesting that UK expats have more sense than the rest of mankind?

No, I am suggesting that the arrangement is intended to protect the 'local population' from being 'exploited' - by being offered 'credit' that they can ill afford, in other words, that the legislation is 'Socially oriented' in the same way as the legislation that is aimed at preventing Turkish Cypriots from spending all of their wages in Casinos. (I don't suppose that they give a fig about UK expats - or indeed any other Foreigners, the Casinos are there to extract funds from idiots, after all...).

There is nothing to stop Greeks, Brits, or anyone else losing their shirts in a Casino!

It's a great pity that the Banks in the UK are not limited by similar rules to ensure that they don't offer credit to those who can't afford it.

Keithcaley wrote: It's a great pity that the Banks in the UK are not limited by similar rules to ensure that they don't offer credit to those who can't afford it.

Well Lloyds did just announce that in order to 'protect' their customers and in turn themselves from bad debt they would no longer allow the purchase of cypto currencies using their credit cards.

Of course I am still 'free' to use my Lloyds credit card to purchase hard liquor or cigarettes or indeed to top up my ladbrokes gaming account. Then again hard liquor, cigarettes and gambling do not have quite the same potential to fundamental threaten the banking industry cartel in quite the same way as crypto currencies potentially do ?

No turkish cypriots allowed in casinos thats a laugh they are full of them dont think the police raid anymore like they used too.We used to get a warning and all hide in the cleaners offices till the police had gone.

I was just trying to suggest, KC, in the nicest way, that your post sounded just a teeny bit racist!

I do agree that it is a pity UK banks don't institute similar restrictions. However, you can't always protect people against their own stupidity, otherwise some of us here (self included) would not have lost hard earned money on buying houses, or taking bad advice on investments!

Deniz: I thought citizens of the TRNC were allowed to bet in casinos providing they had the written permission of their Spouse! Has that changed.

Ragged Robin wrote:I was just trying to suggest, KC, in the nicest way, that your post sounded just a teeny bit racist!...

I know precisely what you were suggesting.

Honi soit qui mal y pense.