Does a Russian UnionPay card work in Istanbul — for payments and ATM withdrawals?

Important update: RSHB UnionPay card has stopped allowing ATM cash withdrawals. Recommendation is not to load large sums onto the card — spend funds immediately after topping up.

If the card isn't working anywhere, make sure the funds were transferred to the card itself, not left on a separate linked account — otherwise payments won't go through. After moving the money onto the card, payments started working roughly half the time.

The card is better used as a backup for cash withdrawals rather than a primary payment method. It sometimes works at cafes and pharmacies. If a payment fails, try asking staff to switch the acquiring bank on the terminal — this sometimes helps get the payment through.

RSHB UnionPay still works for cash withdrawals in Turkey, but the bank has already been sanctioned on some routes — reportedly Turkey isn't affected yet, but this could change at any time.

Paying directly with the card in person doesn't always work and choices are limited, but paying via Trip.com went through fine a second time.

It's better not to pay directly in US dollars in Istanbul — vendors often give a poor exchange rate. Exchange them for lira at a currency exchange when needed.

The RSHB UnionPay UP card works reliably for ATM cash withdrawals. Card payments are inconsistent — roughly half the time or slightly better. It's recommended to register with Letim and bring cash in EUR or USD to exchange for lira locally.

The UnionPay card from RSHB works more often than not for payments. It successfully paid for Istanbulkart top-ups and purchases at some shops and cafes, but was declined at Migros. ATM withdrawals work — at Vakıfbank the fee was 250 RUB flat per transaction regardless of amount. The maximum withdrawal limit is unclear.

The RSHB UP UnionPay card works reliably for cash withdrawals. For point-of-sale payments it's unreliable — not accepted everywhere.