Which Payment Method Is Safer When Buying a Used Car?

Buying Guides
Author: Mustafa Odabaşı
Creation: 22 October 2026

The Secure Payment System, which became mandatory at notary offices as of September 27, 2024, locks the money to the vehicle transfer, eliminating all the risks left behind by wire transfers, checks, and promissory notes.

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When buying a used car, the safest payment method is the notary Secure Payment System, which ensures that the money changes hands simultaneously with the transfer of the vehicle; Its use in vehicle sales at the notary has been legally mandatory since September 27, 2024. While methods such as bank transfer, handing over a check or a promissory note still work in certain situations, none of them can lock the payment to the transfer of ownership. In this article, we compare payment options in terms of safety, evidentiary strength, and practical risks, and explain classic pitfall areas such as down payments and promissory notes with examples.

Highlights

Since September 27, 2024, the Secure Payment System has been mandatory for vehicle sales at the notary.
If the payment is not blocked, the notary does not permit the sales contract.
The system service fee for 2026 is 243.84 TL; it is deducted from the sale amount.
As of December 5, 2024, valid mandatory traffic insurance is required before the sale.
If the registration does not take place, the money in the blocked account is automatically refunded to the buyer.

Back then cash in a bag, now a blocked account

Those who have been in this business for many years know it well: At one time, used vehicle transfers were done with cash carried in a safe or a bag. The two parties would meet at the notary, keys would change hands with the counted money, and no one knew what the other might do. The risk of counterfeit money, the risk of the money not being sent after the vehicle, even the risk of being robbed on the way home were all part of this ritual.

Now the picture is much clearer. The Secure Payment System, launched in 2020 in cooperation with the Ministry of Trade and the Notaries Union of Türkiye, became mandatory as of September 27, 2024 for sales of used motor vehicles registered at the notary. The logic of the system is simple and sound: The vehicle payment is blocked in an escrow account until the notary transaction is completed; when the notary gives the registration approval, the money passes to the seller within seconds. If for any reason the registration does not take place, the money returns to the buyer. In other words, the payment of the money and the transfer of the vehicle's ownership now happen at the same time, under the control of a single mechanism.

Knowing the details of the system makes your job easier. The seller opens a record using the Vehicle Swap service on e-Government or their own bank's application; a reference code usually starting with TB is sent to the buyer via SMS. With this reference, the buyer transfers the payment to the escrow account, and the money stays blocked until registration. The notary does not permit the sales contract if the sale price is not blocked. After the registration approval, the money usually passes to the seller's account within a few minutes, and the system works 24/7. If the sales record is not completed by the end of business hours on the next business day, the system automatically cancels the transaction and refunds the amount.

Also, remember two limitations of the system: It applies only to vehicles registered by notaries and is not used in share-based purchases and sales. Both the buyer and the seller can enter only their own IBAN; payment cannot be made to a third person's account. Being a bank customer is not a requirement either; an active, unblocked TL deposit account at any bank is sufficient.

Comparison of payment methods: Which one is how safe?

The table below puts the main methods used in the field today side by side in terms of evidential strength and practical risks. As can be seen, the Safe Payment System has effectively become the single mandatory standard; the others only play a complementary role in certain situations.

Method	Safety and evidential strength	Key risks
Notary Safe Payment System	Funds transfer simultaneously with the ownership transfer; notary approval is mandatory	Low; the service fee and transfer limits should be taken into account in practice
Wire Transfer / EFT	Recorded by the bank; high evidential strength if made from your own account	A mobile phone screenshot alone does not count as proof; it creates pressure during the period when the vehicle is not yet in your hands
Blocked check	Safer than carrying cash, since the check amount is blocked at the bank	The transactions must be carried out at the bank with both parties present
Hand-delivered check and promissory note	A written document, but there is no payment guarantee	The check bouncing, the promissory note turning into a debt enforcement case; among the riskiest methods
Cash	Gives the feeling of a deal closed at the moment of delivery	Risk of counterfeit money, loss and theft; leaves no trace

Since the notary does not allow the sale unless the sale price is blocked, the payment method debate has largely been settled today. Still, wire transfers and blocked checks come into play, especially at the stage before going to the notary - in situations such as a deposit, a preliminary agreement, or a guarantee before the inspection. At this point the rule is simple: If you are moving money, do it through a bank-recorded channel, from your own account, with buyer and seller together.

Order of payment and delivery: How is the riskiest step managed?

Parayı tescil onayına kadar blokede tutan alıcı, arabayı devralmadan önce hem cüzdanını hem pazarlık gücünü güvence altına almış olur.

The most fragile point of a used car purchase is timing. If the money is paid in advance, the buyer is at the mercy of a seller who has received the payment without ever having seen the vehicle; if the vehicle is not delivered later, all that remains in their hands is a bank receipt. If the vehicle is delivered first, then the seller has transferred ownership without receiving payment. This dilemma is the very problem the Safe Payment System solves: the money stays blocked until the notary completes the transaction; with the registration approval, the money passes to the seller and the vehicle is officially transferred.

Workflow on the transfer day

First, a valid mandatory traffic insurance: As of December 5, 2024, the buyer must have taken out traffic insurance before the notary transaction; otherwise the notary does not start the process.
Blocking the payment: Before the sale, the buyer transfers the amount to the escrow account using the reference code.
Notary transfer: The sale contract is completed with the registration approval; the notary does not allow it if the amount is not blocked.
Delivery: After the money passes to the seller, the keys, documents and vehicle are delivered.

Stick to this order; make sure the seller makes promises to you in front of the notary, not in some informal setting. Before going to the notary, also have the inspection report in hand: As of January 1, 2026, vehicles under 8 years old and under 160,000 km require a TSE-certified inspection report obtained within the last three days. Dealers are also now required to provide a legal warranty of three months or 5,000 km per vehicle.

How much will notary costs be in 2026?

Knowing the costs upfront is the quickest way to avoid surprises at the notary. The Safe Payment System service fee for 2026 is 243.84 TL - of which 146.31 TL is the Union of Notaries contribution and 97.53 TL is the bank service fee - and it is deducted from the sale amount; the buyer's transferred amount must additionally cover this fee. Transfer limits vary from bank to bank; some banks have a single-transaction limit of 5 million TL, and larger amounts can be sent in split installments under the same reference.

On the transfer side, however, there is a fundamental change as of January 1, 2026: The old fixed-fee system has been replaced with a proportional notary duty. Now, in addition to the fixed fee, a duty is charged proportionally to the vehicle price and its insured value; the notary fee is also charged at 2 per mille of the sale price. In other words, the notary costs for transferring an expensive vehicle also increase proportionally; you should factor this into your budget from the start.

Deposits, promissory notes, and personal checks: Where are the real risks?

The deposit trap

The most common scenario is this: You respond to a listing online, and the other party asks for a small deposit, claiming they will hold the vehicle for you. Or, conversely, if you are the seller, they say a buyer has been found for your vehicle, that they are ready to send you a deposit so you can remove the listing - and while you are trying to receive the deposit, they get you to send money under the name of a transaction or commission fee. This is colloquially known as the payment request scam, and it can qualify as aggravated fraud under cybercrime laws. According to Court of Cassation precedent, failing to present the vehicle after receiving a deposit also constitutes aggravated fraud. Another point to remember: The fact that the person who obtained the deposit through deception returns the money does not erase the crime committed.

If you need to give a deposit, read the contract through to the end. If it states that the deposit will be forfeited if the purchase is not made on time, then you are accepting that loss; if no explicit withdrawal compensation is specified, the deposit serves as earnest money, subject to the Court of Cassation's assessment. Never transfer money through any channel other than a notary transfer, no matter how small; since the payment is protected by a block at the notary today, the very need for a deposit should be questioned.

Promissory notes and personal checks

Buying a vehicle with a promissory note is a legal route and is considered an acceptable option, especially when done with a trustworthy, contract-based second-hand dealer. However, working with an individual seller using a personal promissory note or personal check is a very different matter: A check may bounce, a promissory note may end up in enforcement proceedings, and these documents sit at the center of every dispute over whether the money was actually paid. A blocked check is significantly safer than a personal check; Since the check amount is blocked at the bank, the owner eliminates the risk of bounced checks. In this method, preferred for high-value sales where the two parties do not know each other, it is recommended that the buyer and seller go together to the buyer's bank and carry out the transaction there. Even so, since the Secure Payment System is mandatory for sales registered at the notary, the blocked check mainly matters at non-notary stages or in shared-ownership transactions.

Practical precautions against fraud

Choosing the right payment method is only one part of the job. Most of the scams that have been circulating in the field for years are built around the car, not the money. The most common one: waiting for the damage record of a heavily damaged vehicle to drop off its TRAMER record within 45 days and then selling it as if it were undamaged; accidents that never made it into the record may not appear even in inspection reports. It is also known that a fake inspection report can be obtained by changing the chassis number. Another classic is the bait-and-switch spiral: The seller is convinced that their vehicle has been sold, the listing is removed, and the groundwork is laid for a bigger trap.

Let the money circulate only through the notary's Secure Payment System; stay away from sellers who ask for a deposit or down payment.
Work from your own account, from your own bank; do not wire money to a third party's account.
A mobile banking screenshot is not, by itself, proof of payment; fake receipts are a widespread method.
Before the sale, always check the TRAMER damage record and the inspection report.
Before the notary transaction, get valid traffic insurance; the transaction cannot be initiated without insurance.

Closing: Trust the process, not your money

A lot has changed in thirty years, but the fundamental principle has not: In buying a used vehicle, trust must rest not on the other party's word but on the structure of the process. A system that locks the payment with registration has taken the place of carrying cash, handing over a check, and the hearsay deposit, and this serves the interest of the honest seller just as much as the buyer. When you go to the notary with the right timing, costs known in advance, and a vetted vehicle record, both sides of the table have left the riskiest step of the deal behind.