The Regulation on the Payment of Wages, Bonuses, Premiums and Any Other Similar Receivables Through Banks (“Regulation”), which was published in the Official Gazette dated 18 November 2008 and entered into force on 1 January 2009, sets out the principles regarding the payment of wages to employees through banks.

With the Regulation Amending the Regulation on the Payment of Salaries, Bonuses, Premiums and Any Other Similar Receivables Through Banks, published in the Official Gazette dated 4 June 2025, the scope of the obligation for employers to pay wages and other related payments to employees through banks has been revised.

With this amendment to the Regulation, the existing obligation—applicable to employers employing at least five employees across Turkey subject to the Press Labour Law, the Maritime Labour Law or the Labour Law —to pay wages, bonuses, premiums, and all similar types of Receivables through banks has been expanded to include employers who employ at least three employees. Accordingly, as of 1 July 2025, all employers with at least three employees within the foregoing scope will be required to make these payments through banks.

Article 8 of the Regulation governs the payment of wages to seafarers employed under the Maritime Labour Law which applies to seafarers serving under an employment contract on board vessels flying the Turkish flag and having a gross tonnage of one hundred tons or more, operating on seas, lakes, and rivers. In line with the revised rules in respect of the Press Labour Law and the Labour Law, the obligation for employers who employ at least five seafarers across Turkey to pay the net amount after legal deductions through banks has been extended to include employers employing at least three seafarers. It is stipulated that employers who act in violation of the Regulation shall be subject to an administrative fine.

In the original version of the Regulation published in 2008, this obligation applied to the aforementioned employers with at least ten employees which was expanded in 2016 to those with at least five employees and finally, in 2025, to those with at least three employees. The aim of this expansion is to include employees of small-scale workplaces in a secure and traceable bank-based payment system.

We recommend that employers that fall within the Regulation’s scope review their payment systems to ensure compliance with these new rules.