Parliament’s General Assembly in Turkey has passed a set of laws to decrease the amount of credit card debt. The law passed certain regulatory measures that include the following:



1. Banks cannot issue credit cards without the consent of the individuals, in the absence of a contract and without the approval of Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK). The Credit cardholder must pay the amount within the grace period failing which his or her credit card will be cancelled.



2. The banks must evaluate the financial position of the individual before issuing a card. This involves wage analysis, debt-statement and the status of other credit cards.



3. Banks will have to provide the customer and BDDK with credit card bills along with processing customer’s grievances.



4. The authenticity and security of the credit card will be maintained by the provision of signature only by the credit card holders. BDDK and shops will not be allowed to use the personal details of the credit card owner, copy it or disclose the information to a third party.



5. The interest slabs on the non-payment of the credit card debt includes an interest charged after the due date and an additional interest if the payment falls below the outstanding balance. The interest slab also notifies that if the customers facing a court case decide to clear their debts they must do so within 60 days from when the law comes into enforcement, with payment obligations of court costs plus the debt in 18 installments.



6. Any adulteration in the credit card documents for personal benefit will lead the individual to penalty and a prison sentence.

These laws can be workable only if the bank and the credit card holder adhere to them in a disciplined way along with the proper monitoring of BDDK and the evaluation in the reduction of credit card debt once the law is set to action.