As of October, only personalized Istanbulkart holders will be able to benefit from free transportation on public holidays. Tourists and immigrants will not be able to use their free transportation right as of October 29, Republic Day. With the disappearance of the anonymous (no name written) feature of Istanbulkarts, which are also used as debit cards at many payment points, the cards become personal. To implement the personalization system, the Istanbulkart Mobile application or “personalization.istanbulkart.istanbul” web address can be registered. As of December 31, 2022, the use of all anonymous Istanbulkarts will be terminated.
“NON-PERSONALIZED ISTANBUL CARDS WILL BE CLOSED FOR USE AFTER DECEMBER 31”
Providing information on the subject, BELBİM AŞ General Manager Nihat Narin said, “Istanbulkart has now become a life card that allows shopping in the markets like a bank card. This situation increased the amount of balance loaded on Istanbulkart. We now need to protect these high loaded balances on Istanbulkart. What do we do when we lose our credit card? We immediately call the bank and close the card for use. When we personalize Istanbulkart, we will be able to protect the balance in it in the same way. But if your card is an anonymous card, it is not possible to do this. For this reason, non-personalized Istanbulkarts will be closed for use after 31 December.”