Akbank Blocked My Credit Cards While Abroad Without Warning

While I was abroad on March 17, I attempted to make a transaction with my Axess credit card, but Akbank unilaterally blocked my primary card, supplementary card, and virtual card for “security” reasons.

I encountered this issue while I was in the middle of important matters, outside the country, and in urgent need of access to my cards.

In order to find out why my cards were blocked and to have them reactivated, I called customer service three times and incurred approximately $13 in additional charges due to these calls.

After all these conversations, I was told that the security department would call me, but despite waiting for hours, no one contacted me.

Later, I only received an SMS stating “we called but could not reach you,” even though my phone was on and I had successfully made other calls during that time.

It is unacceptable for Akbank to completely block all my cards under the pretext of security and leave me stranded abroad.

There are alternative security measures, such as sending verification codes, yet leaving a customer without access to their cards while abroad creates both a loss of trust and serious inconvenience.

Due to this experience, I request that my Axess cards be reactivated immediately, that the inconvenience I suffered be addressed, and that a proper security procedure be implemented—one that informs customers instantly and ensures they can actually be reached in such situations.