Fibabank has prohibited citizens of Russia and Belarus from using cards outside of Turkey.

The bank's technical support staff responds with a standard answer: 'According to the bank's policy, debit cards owned by citizens of Russia and Belarus are blocked for transactions in foreign countries. You can use your debit card for transactions in Turkey'. There is currently no official information on the website.

Customers started writing about the payment issues with the bank on December 7.

So far no one has had any problems with other banks, however this is not the first 'alarm' - previously Ziraat Bank disconnected international Swift transfers in the personal account. Transfers are now only possible with the prefix TR in the IBAN code.

Restrictions on Russian and Belarusian customers are believed to be due to concerns about the impact of sanctions on Fiba Group’s business.