Turkey drops the ’Y’ in its national currency
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 31, 2008 00:00
ISTANBUL - The Turkish currency will be called ’Turkish Lira,’ or TL, starting from Jan. 1. Speaking in Ankara, Central Bank Governor Durmuş Yılmaz says the campaign to promote the change has cost YTL1.14 million. Citizens generally view the transition positively.
Starting from Jan. 1, Turkey will start using the Turkish Lira, or TL, once again, as the Y in YTL the "new" of the New Turkish Lira, will be dropped.
Speaking in Ankara on Tuesday, Central Bank Governor Durmuş Yılmaz said the cost of the campaign to promote the TL stood at YTL 1.14 million, while the cost of changing from the YTL to TL would be YKr 11 to 12 for each banknote.
Citizens think the change will be for the good, while some say the transition could have been bypassed altogether.
The new banknotes will be smaller, Yılmaz said, and added that until the end of 2009, YTL notes would still be in circulation. "As of the first half of 2009, we foresee that most of the money in circulation will be TL," he said.
Informing journalists about security precautions on the banknotes, Yılmaz said these fell into four categories, those related to citizens, machines, professionals and the Central Bank.
Old banknotes to be burned
Responding to questions, Yılmaz said the bank had done everything it could to prevent banks having problems Jan. 1. The YTL banknotes would be taken away from the market and burned, Yılmaz said.
"The transition to the TL will not have an affect on inflation," he said. "The new TL 200 banknote will only be used in transactions between banks and the Central Bank."
Citizens generally viewed the transition as positive. "Passing from the TL to the YTL will make things easier," Hüseyin Türkyılmaz, a pensioner, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. Türkyılmaz, 58, said, "We will get used to it over time, but I just do not understand why they will release TL 200 banknotes. There is no need for that."
"There was no need to name the money YTL if it was going to be changed to TL anyway," said Barış Arslan, 27. "It is a waste of time and money. Now there are a lot of YTL notes that will be removed from the market."
Housewife Emel Demir, meanwhile, said she was still not used to the removal of the six zeros. "I still cannot get used to the YTL to describe money," Demir, 49, told the Daily News. "I get confused when talking about certain amounts, for example, YTL 1,000. But still, it has been a lot easier after the six zeros were removed"
"I do not see any difference between the YTL and TL," said Mehmet Canatar. "Following the removal of the zeros, everything became easier both for calculation and for daily transactions."
The removal of the zeros has caused confusion, according to İlknur Özcan, a university student. ""Still, it is quite useful to use the money without those zeros," she said. "It does not matter to me if it is YTL or TL, it is just better now."
As the country leaves the ’Y,’ bank ATMs may have delays that could last as long as 30 minutes, according to the Union of Turkish Banks, or TBB. The organization said Monday that point-of-sale devices may encounter delays of one to two minutes as the clock strikes midnight, while the delay may be as long as half an hour at ATMs. The union aims to complete adaptation work at the ATMs in three months.
Ekrem Ekici in Istanbul contributed to this report.
Speaking in Ankara on Tuesday, Central Bank Governor Durmuş Yılmaz said the cost of the campaign to promote the TL stood at YTL 1.14 million, while the cost of changing from the YTL to TL would be YKr 11 to 12 for each banknote.
Citizens think the change will be for the good, while some say the transition could have been bypassed altogether.
The new banknotes will be smaller, Yılmaz said, and added that until the end of 2009, YTL notes would still be in circulation. "As of the first half of 2009, we foresee that most of the money in circulation will be TL," he said.
Informing journalists about security precautions on the banknotes, Yılmaz said these fell into four categories, those related to citizens, machines, professionals and the Central Bank.
Old banknotes to be burned
Responding to questions, Yılmaz said the bank had done everything it could to prevent banks having problems Jan. 1. The YTL banknotes would be taken away from the market and burned, Yılmaz said.
"The transition to the TL will not have an affect on inflation," he said. "The new TL 200 banknote will only be used in transactions between banks and the Central Bank."
Citizens generally viewed the transition as positive. "Passing from the TL to the YTL will make things easier," Hüseyin Türkyılmaz, a pensioner, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. Türkyılmaz, 58, said, "We will get used to it over time, but I just do not understand why they will release TL 200 banknotes. There is no need for that."
"There was no need to name the money YTL if it was going to be changed to TL anyway," said Barış Arslan, 27. "It is a waste of time and money. Now there are a lot of YTL notes that will be removed from the market."
Housewife Emel Demir, meanwhile, said she was still not used to the removal of the six zeros. "I still cannot get used to the YTL to describe money," Demir, 49, told the Daily News. "I get confused when talking about certain amounts, for example, YTL 1,000. But still, it has been a lot easier after the six zeros were removed"
"I do not see any difference between the YTL and TL," said Mehmet Canatar. "Following the removal of the zeros, everything became easier both for calculation and for daily transactions."
The removal of the zeros has caused confusion, according to İlknur Özcan, a university student. ""Still, it is quite useful to use the money without those zeros," she said. "It does not matter to me if it is YTL or TL, it is just better now."
As the country leaves the ’Y,’ bank ATMs may have delays that could last as long as 30 minutes, according to the Union of Turkish Banks, or TBB. The organization said Monday that point-of-sale devices may encounter delays of one to two minutes as the clock strikes midnight, while the delay may be as long as half an hour at ATMs. The union aims to complete adaptation work at the ATMs in three months.
Ekrem Ekici in Istanbul contributed to this report.