For Danish buyers, the property search in Turkey is often the easy part. Sunlit photos, friendly agents and a clear budget make the dream feel close. The moment that catches most Danes off guard comes later: actually moving the money. Transferring several hundred thousand kroner from a Danish account to Turkey is the single most common practical stumbling block in the whole purchase, and a slow or rejected transfer can push your title-deed day weeks into the future.
This guide walks through exactly how Danish buyers send money to Turkey for a property purchase, bank by bank, document by document. It covers compliance checks, the DAB certificate you will need at the tapu office, which Turkish banks welcome foreign nationals, and how to time the transfer so it lands on the right day at the right value.
Why money transfers to Turkey are genuinely tricky
A transfer from Denmark to Turkey is not a normal domestic payment. Three forces make it more complicated than sending money to a friend.
FATF and AML compliance. Both Denmark and Turkey follow Financial Action Task Force (FATF) anti-money-laundering rules. A six-figure cross-border transfer to a country FATF monitors closely will trigger compliance review at your Danish bank. You will usually be asked to prove where the money came from (salary, property sale, savings, inheritance) and what it is for. This is routine, not suspicion, but it takes time.
Purpose codes and documentation. Turkish receiving banks classify incoming foreign currency by purpose. A real-estate purchase has its own coding, and getting this right matters because it feeds directly into the certificate you need for the title deed. Your transfer reference should clearly state that the payment is for a property purchase, ideally naming the property or the seller.
Timing against tapu day. The tapu (title deed) is transferred at the Land Registry on a fixed appointment. The seller wants cleared funds; you do not want your money sitting converted into lira for weeks before the deed is signed. Aligning a 1-3 business day international wire with a tapu appointment that can move at short notice is a real scheduling exercise.
Danish banks and how each one behaves
Every major Danish bank can send the wire, but their processes, fees and patience for large transfers differ. Plan around your specific bank.
Danske Bank
Danske Bank sends international payments as a SWIFT wire. For a property-sized amount, expect the bank to request purpose documentation up front: the sales contract, an explanation of the source of funds, and confirmation of the Turkish beneficiary. Large transfers commonly trigger a FATF/AML questionnaire that you must complete before the payment is released. Processing is typically 1-3 business days once the payment clears compliance. Initiating a six-figure transfer through a branch adviser, rather than purely online, often smooths the compliance step because the adviser can attach your documents directly.
Nordea Denmark
Nordea follows a similar SWIFT-based process. Smaller international payments can be sent through Nordea's online and mobile banking, but large property amounts frequently push you toward a branch or a phone conversation with an adviser, partly because of daily online transfer limits and partly because the bank wants documentation for the compliance file. Build in time for Nordea to verify source of funds before the wire leaves.
Jyske Bank, Sydbank and Nykredit
The smaller and mid-sized Danish banks behave much like the big two. Jyske Bank and Sydbank both send SWIFT wires and will ask for the purpose of the payment and proof of where the funds originated for anything property-sized. Nykredit, with its mortgage-and-banking profile, is well used to large housing-related transfers but applies the same AML checks. With all three, expect to provide the sales contract and a short written explanation of the source of funds. None of them will release a large international transfer without a clear paper trail.
Revolut and Wise as alternatives
Revolut and Wise are excellent for the smaller payments around a purchase: a reservation deposit, agent fees, the cost of a survey, or early living expenses. Their currency conversion is transparent and the fees on a few thousand euros are far lower than a traditional bank wire.
For the full purchase price, weigh the tradeoffs carefully. Fintech accounts have transfer and balance limits, can place security holds on unusually large transactions, and the funds may route through an account in the platform's name rather than appearing as a clean bank-to-bank wire from you. For the certificate you need at the tapu office, a transfer that clearly shows you as the sender, from a regulated bank, into a Turkish bank, is the safest path. Use fintech for the small amounts; use your Danish bank for the purchase itself.
Danish bank comparison
| Danish bank | Typical wire fee | Processing time | Key requirements |
|-------------|------------------|-----------------|------------------|
| Danske Bank | ~200-400 DKK | 1-3 business days | Purpose docs, sales contract, FATF/AML questionnaire on large transfers |
| Nordea Denmark | ~200-400 DKK | 1-3 business days | Source-of-funds proof; branch/phone for large amounts due to online limits |
| Jyske Bank | ~250-500 DKK | 1-3 business days | Purpose of payment, proof of fund origin, beneficiary details |
| Sydbank | ~250-500 DKK | 1-3 business days | Sales contract, source of funds, SWIFT beneficiary details |
| Nykredit | ~250-450 DKK | 1-3 business days | AML documentation, source of funds for housing-related transfer |
| Wise / Revolut | Low % fee on amount | Hours to 2 days | Account/transfer limits; possible holds on large sums; weaker as DAB basis |
Fees vary with your customer agreement and the transfer amount; confirm the exact figure with your bank before sending.
The DAB certificate: proving the money came from abroad
This is the piece many Danish buyers learn about too late. To buy property in Turkey as a foreign national, especially if you ever want to support a residence permit or a future citizenship-by-investment route, you generally need a Döviz Alım Belgesi (DAB), a foreign-currency purchase certificate. It proves that the money used to buy the property genuinely entered Turkey from abroad and was converted into Turkish lira.
The DAB is issued by the Turkish bank that receives your transfer and converts the currency. Your Danish SWIFT transfer is the foundation of that certificate: the incoming wire, clearly marked as a property purchase, becomes the documented basis on which the Turkish bank issues the DAB. If the money never arrives as a clean foreign-currency transfer in your name, or if it arrives in a way the bank cannot cleanly trace, getting a correct DAB becomes difficult.
Practical takeaway: tell your Turkish bank in advance that you will need a DAB for a property purchase, send the money as foreign currency (EUR is standard) from your own Danish account, and ask the Turkish bank to issue the DAB at the point of conversion to lira. Keep every confirmation.
Documents you need from your Danish bank
When you initiate the wire, ask your Danish bank for, and keep, the following:
- The SWIFT/MT103 confirmation for the outgoing payment. This is the formal proof the transfer left your account, with amount, date and beneficiary.
- Sender details that match your records in Turkey. The name on the Danish account should match the name tied to your Turkish tax number and Turkish bank account. Mismatched names are a frequent cause of delays at the Turkish end.
- A copy of the purpose/source-of-funds documentation you submitted, in case the Turkish bank or notary asks for consistency.
Your Turkish tax number and Turkish bank account need to be in place before the money moves, which is why most buyers sort those out first. If you have not done that yet, see our guide on getting your Vergi Numarası and Turkish Bank Account: A Complete Guide for Danish Property Buyers before you start the transfer.
How much to send, and when
Timing the transfer is a balancing act between two opposite risks.
Send too early and your euros sit converted into Turkish lira for longer than necessary. Because the lira can move sharply against the krone and euro, converting weeks ahead exposes you to currency swings that can shift the real cost of your home.
Send too late and the money fails to clear before your tapu appointment. A 1-3 business day wire, plus a possible compliance hold, plus a Turkish receiving and conversion step, can easily stretch to a week. Miss the cleared-funds deadline and the title-deed appointment slips.
The practical pattern most buyers follow: confirm the tapu date with your agent and notary, then initiate the full purchase-price transfer roughly five to seven business days ahead, holding the funds in EUR at the Turkish bank and converting to lira only when the deed is imminent. Send the full agreed purchase amount in one clean, well-referenced transfer rather than several fragmented payments, which are harder to document for the DAB.
EUR versus TRY accounts in Turkey
Most Danish buyers receive the money in euros at a Turkish bank, then convert to Turkish lira at, or just before, the transaction. This protects you from holding lira during the waiting period and gives you a single, clean conversion event that the bank can certify on the DAB.
Sending euros also keeps your costs predictable: you do one currency conversion, at a moment you choose, rather than being exposed to lira volatility for the whole transfer window. Open both a EUR and a TRY account at your Turkish bank if offered; receive into EUR, convert into TRY for the purchase, and request the DAB on that conversion.
Turkish bank accounts for Danish buyers
You will need a Turkish bank account to receive the funds and to obtain the DAB. The banks Danish buyers most often use are Garanti BBVA, Akbank and İş Bankası. All three are experienced with foreign nationals buying property, have English-speaking staff in tourist and expat regions, and are comfortable issuing DAB certificates.
To open an account you typically need your passport, your Turkish tax number, and sometimes a Turkish address or phone number. Garanti BBVA and Akbank are often singled out as straightforward for foreigners in coastal areas popular with Danes, while İş Bankası has one of the largest branch networks. Whichever you choose, confirm before you transfer that the branch can issue a DAB for a property purchase and accepts incoming EUR wires from Denmark.
Fees to expect
Budget for three layers of cost:
- Danish bank wire fee: commonly in the 200-500 DKK range for an international SWIFT transfer, depending on your bank and agreement.
- Turkish bank receiving fee: the receiving bank usually charges a fee to process an incoming foreign wire; ask for the figure in advance.
- Currency conversion spread: the gap between the mid-market rate and the rate your bank gives on the EUR-to-TRY (or DKK-to-EUR) conversion. On a property-sized amount this spread is usually the largest cost of all, far bigger than the flat wire fees, so it is worth asking your Turkish bank what rate they will apply.
A common mistake is fixating on the visible wire fee while ignoring the conversion spread that quietly costs many times more. Ask about both.
Pre-transfer checklist
Before you initiate the purchase-price wire, have these ready:
- Turkish tax number obtained and recorded.
- Turkish bank account open, with EUR and TRY capability, at a bank that issues the DAB.
- Confirmation from the Turkish branch that it will issue a DAB for your property purchase.
- Signed sales contract and any source-of-funds documents your Danish bank requested.
- The exact beneficiary details: account holder name, IBAN, SWIFT/BIC, bank branch.
- Names matching across your Danish account, Turkish tax number and Turkish account.
- A confirmed or provisional tapu date to time the transfer.
- Your notarised and apostilled documents in order; if you are unsure what needs certifying, review our guide on Turkish Notary and Apostille Guide for Danish Property Buyers.
- A clear payment reference stating the transfer is for a property purchase.
Get these in place and the transfer itself becomes a calm, predictable step rather than the part of the purchase that keeps you awake. The money arrives, the DAB is issued, the lira is converted on the right day, and you walk into the tapu office with everything the registry needs.