**Turkey ATMs — does “decline conversion” cancel the withdrawal?**

erdinç yazman

22d ago

🛡️ Traveler · 1,875 points

Not a dumb question—the wording makes it sound like you’re refusing the cash 😅 “Decline conversion” means no to the ATM’s dollar exchange rate. You can still get your Turkish lira. “Cancel transaction” is the button that stops the withdrawal. Choose TRY, Turkish lira or “continue without conversion.” Your card provider handles the exchange into dollars instead. That shiny “guaranteed dollar amount” option is an exchange offer, not a favour. The annoying bit is that conversion and withdrawal fees are separate. Declining conversion doesn’t remove the ATM’s fee or any charges from your US bank. So someone saying “I declined and still paid a fee” isn’t necessarily describing a mistake. Before confirming, look at the actual ATM fee. Too expensive? Cancel and try another bank’s machine. Check whether it’s a fixed amount or a percentage too. Taking out more cash only spreads a fixed fee; it doesn’t beat a percentage charge. I’d pick a machine attached to an open bank branch. If it swallows your card, you’ve got somewhere to walk into. Don’t pick a bank just because an old forum post says “no fees”—what that machine offers your card today is what matters. For a sightseeing day mostly paid by card, around 1,000–1,500 lira would be my starting cash cushion for small purchases and backup. No need to withdraw the whole holiday budget. And use the same rule at restaurant card machines: pay in lira, not dollars. Your home currency looks reassuring on the screen, but that doesn’t make it the better deal.